


The Black Coral

by VastDelusion



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, But whatever, F/M, Kind of cliche, M/M, Male Slash, Pirate!Percy, Pirates of the Caribbean References, Sirens, Sword Fighting, prince!Nico
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-19 01:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 49,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14225796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VastDelusion/pseuds/VastDelusion
Summary: Nico di Angelo is the prince of Italy. His father wants him to get married and rule the kingdom, but Nico wants to travel the world. When his father has had enough, he schedules for Nico to go on a voyage, but when he gets back, he must marry a princess. Nico, who was not really into princesses, if you get the meaning, agrees to go on the voyage, but has other plans. This will be a voyage that he will never forget.





	1. The Prince Of Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prince Nico desires an escape from reality and his future in ruling Italy, not to mention his forced betrothal.

"Nico, you will get a beautiful wife to serve as queen," the king told his son.

The two were in the throne room of their castle, which sat in the heart of the kingdom in which the di Angelos ruled. Nico was seated upon his father's throne as the King of Italy paced back and forth, to and fro, in front of his son, dictating Nico's future for him as he did ever since Nico could understand him. Racked with unpleasant boredom, Nico rested his elbow on the armrest of the throne, leaning his cheekbone on the heel of his hand. 

He had a small table that a servant had received for him placed before him, and lie upon it a piece of parchment, which was now covered in absentminded doodles he made with his feather quill and ink. He was not paying a single shred of attention to his father, for his thoughts had been whisked away to what lie undiscovered across the ocean. 

"She will be gentle, delicate, clean, cautious, kind, and obedient. She must be a natural-born leader, but know when to keep quiet when she needs to. Nico, are you listening?" 

"What?" Prince Nico was ripped back into reality, apart from his daydreams and ink doodles on the parchment that sat before him. 

"Nico, as the future king of Italy, you must be attentive," the king snapped. 

"Must I be king?" Nico sighed, absentmindedly caressing the edges of the soft vanes of the feather on his quill with his index finger and thumb. "There must be a thousand men out there who would murder others for this position." 

"That is exactly why we do not want them to serve as king, son," King Hades replied, sighing in exasperation. "Our kingdom believes in peace, unless war is forced upon us." 

Nico nodded understandingly, but he was not interested. He knew that his father would arrange a marriage for him, because they have gone through many a princess, and he had not a liking for any of them. 

"Nico, we have discussed this issue multiple times, you will become king, and you will get married to a princess, whether you like it or not." King Hades got fed up with Nico's playing with his quill, so he confiscated it out of his son's hand and placed it on an armrest of his wife's throne. 

Nico resisted the urge to groan; that would only get him slapped. Instead, he nodded respectfully. "May I be excused?" he asked. 

"Very well, just be sure to come down for dinner," his father agreed reluctantly. 

"Of course, Father." 

Nico nodded his head again and got himself down from the throne. He moved the table slightly so he could get out, and gracefully walked out of the room and to the staircase before looking around to see if his father was looking, which he was not. Instead of going up to his room, the prince slipped around the corner and toward the front entrance, which led to the village. 

He ran all the way downhill, through the unsanitary village and down to the docks, where cargo ships were loading and unloading. He watched the waves gently rise and fall in the distance, a seagull calling to another in the clear sky, where sat a couple of fluffy white clouds, which reminded Nico of sheep. 

He took off his shoes and socks and pulled up his pant legs, setting his feet up to his ankles in the harbor. The water sloshing gently against the prince's ankles emitted an aroma much more pure than the foul-smelling village, which was filled with feces and other unpleasant things Nico would rather not think about. 

He kicked his bare feet around in the water as he inhaled the salty air, wishing he could explore what was beyond what his eyes, or even the high-powered telescope perched in the window of his room could see. The world wasn't flat, no, it was a round object containing many terrains and seas, filled with unexplored lands, waters, and adventures, if only Nico could see it. But no, he had to rule stupid Italy with a stupid wife by his side. 

He did not want a wife at all. That might sound completely normal for a prince not wanting a wife; however, Nico felt that his case was different. He wanted a husband, not a wife. Nico wanted a husky voice telling him good morning as the prince was held close to his body, muscular and comforting, or strong arms pinning him against the wall as he kissed Nico's lips fiercely and fervidly. He wanted to be treated like he was valuable, a rare treasure. A woman's breasts and hips held no temptation for him, not as they should have. He knew that ancient Greeks thought it was more manly for a man to be attracted to other men, but times changed, and Nico wished they had not. 

"Hello, Your Highness," a voice came from behind him. 

Nico turned around quickly, startled, for he had no knowledge that someone was there, having been in his own little world of his fantasies, the salty air, and the serene, tranquil silence of it all, excluding the sound of the waves caressing the poles that held the docks upright occasionally, some of the young, muscular seamen, most of whom were very attractive, conversing, and seagulls shouting to each other overhead. He saw Leo, one of his favorite servants, approach him, whom soon sat down next to the prince. 

"Shouldn't you be in your studies, future King of Italy?" 

Nico glared at his curly-haired servant, whom he was a couple of centimeters taller than. Leo knew that he hated being reminded of his future. He shook his head. "No, he let me go early today." 

"He did?" Leo asked. "That is a first." 

Nico gave a slight smile to his servant before returning his gaze to the tides. "I know that he is going to force me to get married to some princess soon." 

"You better hope it is Princess Reyna Ramirez-Arellano of Spain," Leo grinned. "She is beautiful, well-put-together-" 

"Then she is not my preference." 

"Your highness, this is why your father is forcing your betrothal," Leo said. "You are always being picky." 

"That is because when I get married, I want to get married to someone I love, not to some princess I never had acquainted to," Nico explained. "I want to get married to someone that I want to spend the rest of my life with, and, at this moment, I do not have anyone in mind." 

"Well, good luck, my friend," Leo concluded. "I hope you marry someone that works for you." 

Nico gave a brief laugh. "Fat chance, knowing my father. His ideals for wives are extravagant and pretty, which is not me." 

"Then what are your ideals?" 

Nico thought about it for a little while before answering. "My ideal spouse is selfless, funny, kind...charming, caring, sweet, observant; sarcastic, but they get along well with everyone, strong, and skilled at combat. Someone who is challenging for me. Not to mention, I would like it very much if they were attractive." 

"Good luck finding a girl like that," Leo snorted. 

"Yes, a girl," Nico said to himself. 

"Your Highness, I know you are only attracted to men, but that is not an option for your father," Leo told him honestly. "Not at all. If so, he would want you to get married to a boy younger than you, and no offense, but you are more of a submissive kind of boy, so that would not work out." 

"I am not submissive!" Nico protested, but his attention got yanked away by a muscular seaman grunting as he loaded a heavy crate on a cargo ship. 

"Of course not," Leo said sarcastically. 

"Oh, do shut up," Nico snapped. 

"No can do, Your Highness," Leo smirked. 

"I will throw you in the harbor." 

"I wish you luck lifting me off the ground." 

"I despise you greatly at the moment," Nico growled. 

"You cut me deep, di Angelo," Leo retorted in a sarcastic tone. "Anyways, you said you found sarcasm in the 'Your Type' category." 

"And I said I would like it if they were attractive," Nico remarked. 

"Okay, okay," Leo chuckled. "Shouldn't you get back before anyone notices that you're gone?" 

"Probably, that would be a good idea," Nico agreed. "I do not want to get in trouble again. Last time it did not go so well." 

He had to clean out the horse stables. How revolting was that? Being royalty did not change his consequences, unfortunately. If he messed up, he would have to clean the throne room, or the stables, or help the old ladies, who sort of looked like birds, also whom Leo and Nico joked about, calling them "harpies", clean the dishes and kitchens. Wandering out of the castle unsupervised would mean a big chore when he got back. Fortunately, Leo could vouch for him, saying he was chaperoning him, but it would only muffle the consequences, since he had left the castle unannounced. 

"I bet," Leo chuckled, beginning to walk back toward the village to the castle. Nico followed the shorter boy, leaving his fantasies and dreams in the salty, crystal blue waters of the ocean, heading toward the object of all of his worries and fears: reality.


	2. The Voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico finally gets what he wants: a voyage to England. It is only a taste of travelling the world, but he accepts. There is only one catch; once he returns, he is to be wed to Princess Reyna of Spain.

"You...what?" Nico asked, surprised.

"I thought about how you wanted to explore the ocean, so I scheduled a cargo ship to take you to England and back, but only for one exception," the King of Italy told him. 

"What is the exception, Father?" 

"Once you get back, a wedding will begin to be scheduled," King Hades said. "Yours." 

"Who shall I get wed to?" Nico asked, masking his disappointment so he didn't ruin his opportunity. 

"To Princess Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano of Spain," his father replied. 

Nico could hear Leo's voice in his head, cheering and shouting, "I knew it!" Nico rolled his eyes at the thought of his friend practically doing cartwheels, like he always did when he guessed something right. 

"Queen Bellona of Spain had accepted our peace treaty in return for you to be betrothed to her daughter, Princess Reyna, so that will be in order," the king continued. 

"I shall accept the offer," Nico agreed. "However, I'm only doing it for the voyage." 

"That is exactly what I knew I would hear, but, son, we have no choice." Hades sat next to his son, who was sitting in his throne. "It is either you get married to the Princess of Spain, or war and ruin is the fate of our country. Do it for Italy, for the people, not for some ridiculous voyage. That is all I ask of you." 

"I will try," Nico sighed. "What do I've got to lose?" 

"That's the spirit!" the King of Italy grinned. "Now, your ship leaves tomorrow, and we are to get you packed for the voyage. You will be back in a week or so, so that gives you enough time to think over your wedding and future ruling of this country. Now, the servants shall help you, tell them what you need, understood?" Nico nodded. "All right, off you go." 

Nico pranced up the stairs and into his room, accidentally closing the door loudly behind him. He plopped onto his bed in a sitting position, still pondering about what he wanted to bring. "Clothes, of course," he thought. "Perhaps a couple of my maps, a journal to write my observations in, quills and ink..." He continued to make a list of what he would bring, blissfully forgetting about his fate when he would get back to the kingdom; his betrothal and ruling. 

After he had made a mental list of what to bring, he strained to pull the heavy trunk from under his bed, so he could pack his intended items. After a few attempts, he had finally managed to drag the large trunk out from under his bed. He unlatched it, opened the lid, and looked for the things on his list in his room to pack into the trunk. He collected and placed a week's worth of clothes on the bottom of the large, empty trunk. He scoured his room, looking for books, maps, blank parchment, quills, ink, everything he could make use of on his very exciting journey. 

The fifteen-year-old prince's packing was interrupted by a gentle, subtle knock on the door to his large bedroom, the door creaking open a small amount. He looked at the semi-ajar door to see the elegant and grand Queen Persephone, his stepmother. She gave him a sickeningly sweet smile. "Good afternoon, Nico, I hope you will have a nice voyage." 

"Um, thank you, ma'am," he replied. 

"I was the one who suggested it, and I hope you will think about your betrothal and Italy while you are gone, it will be an excellent job for you, Nico," she told him. "You will be such a good king, you are responsible, intelligent, and a great leader. You have always been." 

"Thank you," he said again. 

"Do you need any help packing, Nico? I can call a servant up here-" 

"No, thank you, I can manage," he responded. 

"Alright, I hope you will have fun," Persephone gave him another sweet smile before walking away to see her husband. 

He widened his eyes in a that-was-strange fashion before continuing to put his necessities in his trunk. Clothes, maps, quills and ink, his journal, and the other things he had in mind went into the trunk, followed by him closing it and fastening the lid shut. That was when he realized that Queen Persephone had left the door partially open, which irked him to no end. However, he chose to ignore it, as his mind was racing about the voyage he would soon be embarking on. 

He pushed the heavy trunk, the things he put in it were not heavy, but the trunk itself was, over against the nearest, elegant, wallpaper-adorned wall of his room before sitting on his bed. The king usually had a servant pack for him, but he wanted to pack his own things, as he told his stepmother. 

"Nico, do you need assistance?" Leo peeked his head through the partially-open door. 

"No, thank you, I just finished," the prince told his pointy-eared servant. Leo reminded of him of a dwarf, or an elf, from a fairy tale. He was funny and amusing; Nico found it a joy whenever they talked. He considered him a really close friend. "Besides, what time is the ship departing? 

"I believe a little after dawn," Leo informed, opening the door more so he could enter the prince's room. "I also heard talk that you are allowed to bring a servant. I wonder which one you are going to bring." Leo grinned a knowing grin, already convinced that Nico was going to pick him. 

Nico rolled his eyes. "You know who I am going to bring." 

"Yes, but which especially attractive servant will that be?" Leo asked. "I would like to hear you say it." 

"Clarisse," Nico joked. 

"Why must you insist on putting me through so much pain?" 

"You know I would choose you, Leo," Nico told him. 

"I realize, thank you very much for considering," Leo responded with a smirk. 

"Not a problem," the prince of Italy replied. 

"Are you excited?" 

"Yes, of course!" Nico said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I have always wanted to sail away from this place. The only thing I am not excited about is coming back here." 

"What is going to happen when you get back?" Leo asked. 

"I shall be married off and become the King of Italy when my father retires," Nico replied sadly. 

"Who are you getting wed to?" inquired the servant. 

"Princess Reyna of Spain," he told his friend with a disappointed frown. 

"I knew it!" Leo's face broke out in a face-splitting grin. 

Nico rolled his eyes at his servant. "That is exactly what I thought you'd say." 

"Was it?" asked the servant. "Am I predictable?" 

"Yes, quite." 

"Well, sometimes predictable is a good thing to be," stated Leo. "However, at least I am not ogling at men when they walk by." 

"I do not ogle at every male that walks past," Nico protested. "And do not act all innocent, Valdez. Everyone knows that you practically drool whenever pretty little Calypso strides by." 

"Ah, si, Calypso, mio caro," Leo sighed dreamily, causing Nico to once again roll his eyes. 

"You are pathetic," laughed the prince. 

"Look at who's talking, Mr. Arranged-Marriage," Leo retorted. 

"That is Prince Arranged-Marriage to you," Nico shot back. 

That time, Leo was the one who rolled his eyes. "That did not help your case, whatsoever." 

"Maybe if I were not a prince, I could get a man that meets up to my expectations and desires." 

"I apologize, Prince Arranged-Marriage, the world does not work that way." 

"I wish it did," Nico pouted. 

"Heh, don't we all," Leo agreed. "I wish that I was rich, with Calypso on my arm and an island all to myself, but the Fates are not in my favor, either." 

"At least your life is not written out for you," Nico sighed. 

"I suppose," Leo said. "At least you're not starving and have an incurable disease that makes your face look even more dreadful." 

"Well, thanks, Valdez," Nico grumbled. 

"Anytime," Leo countered. "Maybe if our lives are so atrocious, we should run away, join or create a band of pirates, just to get away from it all." 

Nico laughed. "I could be captain, you could be my first mate, and we could make the seven seas tremble whenever they hear our names." 

"Of course, tremble in fear at the mention of Prince Arranged-Marriage!" 

"And scream with fright when one speaks of the terrifying Elfish Servant!" 

"Hey, I am not an elf!" 

"Then stop looking like one." 

Leo gave him a sarcastic look before heading back toward the door. "Well, I should leave this conversation of poorly-thought-out plans and pack my very little belongings to accompany you on this joyous voyage." 

"That sounds good." 

Leo left with a grin, off to his quarters, not knowing of Nico's actual plan of this voyage, and his intentions when they reached England. He was going to run away.


	3. Demons of the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico enjoys the voyage, on which he plans on running away before they return to Italy. A man tells him of adventures and foes the world holds. The most dangerous ones? Pirates.

The morning air was crisp and cool against Nico's skin as he stood upon the docks overlooking the harbor, the sound of the rushing water clashing with the wood that held them upright and the sandy shore.

The prince shivered in the slight breeze, although it wasn't because of the cold. A few crew members of the cargo ship were loading things before Nico and Leo could get on, mainly to avoid them getting in the way, but the crew rephrased it to sound more polite. No one wanted to mouth off to royalty, especially with King Hades in power. 

After the crew finished, they invited the Italian prince and his servant aboard. Nico could already feel the salty breeze against his skin as he mounted the ship, and Leo could already feel the seasickness he was destined to have. 

Nico smiled broadly as he leaned against the wooden starboard rails and looked upon the sailors at work. The members of the crew were preparing the sails as the captain stood proudly at the wheel. Nico sighed in longing. How would it feel to not have anyone tell you what to do, to stand at that wheel and navigate his own ship through the cool, salty waters of the vast oceans that were wrapped around lands that were yet to be discovered? To travel to those lands, to communicate with the indigenous people and to log the indigenous plants? Oh, how he wished. 

The ship was untied from the harbor and was drifting away from his prison that he was going to do whatever he could not to get back to. He felt bad for Leo, how he was going to have to leave him behind, but it was all for his dreams, no matter how selfish it was. 

"How does it feel, Your Highness?" Leo asked, revoking Nico from his thoughts. 

"It feels wonderful," he responded. It wasn't a lie. He felt more wonderful than he had in years. "I finally am free." 

Leo felt tempted to remind the prince how it was only one voyage, then he was going to be forced to be married, but he kept his mouth shut, which was something he didn't do very often. He didn't want to ruin the prince's fun while it lasted; he didn't want to be the reminder that he was never going to have any freedom once they got back. 

"Of course, Your Highness," he replied. 

Nico gave him a small smile before looking back at the land, which seemed to get smaller and smaller in the distance, until vanishing altogether. When it did, Nico's smile grew wider and he decided to explore the ship. He ventured the deck, climbed up the crow's nest, and journeyed below, walking through the uncomfortable-in-appearance barracks and the food pantry. 

When it was time to eat, Nico just took his dinner to the barracks and sat on his own, which was more uncomfortable than he thought it was going to be. However, it was better than sitting in the dining area with sailors that reeked of sweat, filthy clothes, and alcohol, eating like savages and getting drunk off their arses. 

The food was simple enough; it tasted bland, but it was nothing terrible. It could be accustomed to. If that was the price for never going back to that hellhole some people called Italy, he would eat it all the time. 

He sighed and ate as much of his bland food that he could; he never had much of an appetite. When he finished, he mustered enough confidence to go through the sailors, who were laughing obnoxiously at a profanity-filled story one of them was telling. The room stank of alcohol and sailor musk, and it was all Nico could do to not plug his nose or gag; he needed to get used to the obscene scent, since he was going to be there for a while. 

The night was stormy and rough, despite the marvelous weather earlier. Nico could hear the thunder, the strong wind blowing harshly, the persistent rain pounding upon the deck, and the upset waves of the ocean crashing angrily against the sides of the ship. Nico felt slightly anxious, but at the same time calm. He loved the sound of the waves and the rain. However, he always had an irrational fear of thunder; no one knew about it but his father, his mother, and Bianca. However, his mother and Bianca were taken by the cold, merciless hands of disease, his mother when he was two years of age, his sister when he was ten. Subsequent to the deaths of his mother and sister, he decided to simply tough it out and face his fears. The decision and his tactics of handling fear weren't too effective. 

He jolted into a sitting position and grasped his rough, scratchy blanket tightly as another loud clap of startling thunder came along, the waves rocking the ship once more. He closed his eyes and lied back down on his uncomfortable barrack, settling back in and silently repeating to himself, "it is fine, it is only thunder; it cannot hurt you" like a mantra until he finally fell back to sleep, the sounds of the rain and the waves relaxing his anxiety. 

The next morning was as chilly as it was the day before. Nico was up before most of the sailors, which was not a good thing, on their part. Once guided into clear waters, the captain had abandoned his post at the wheel, which made Nico feel nervous. Nico was tempted to take the wheel himself, but before a long while, another sailor took the captain's post. The sailor looked groggy, his mood probably caused by the excessive drinking all of them had done the day before. The captain had most likely stayed at the wheel through the storm and throughout the night, so Nico couldn't really blame him for wanting to rest. 

Nico spent most of the morning standing at the bow of the ship, leaning against the rails and looking upon the vast, sparkling, blue ocean that stretched as far as he could see, a fish jumping out of the beautiful waters every now and then, the seagulls flying though the skies overhead. Nico closed his eyes in the serene silence, interrupted only by a call of a seagull or the rustling of the ship through the ocean. He felt completely at ease, deeply inhaling the salty air. "Yes," the prince thought. "I could get used to this." 

Suddenly, Nico's tranquility was interrupted by the touch of a hand on his shoulder. Startled, the prince jolted, looking behind him at who touched him. Sure enough, it was one of the sailors he had met the day before. Nico guessed that he was about in his mid-thirties by his face, a couple of whiskers on his chin from being at sea. 

"Y'know, son," the man cleared his throat. "There is much more out there than the ocean. There are much more lands to be discovered, but not everyone believes in peace. It's not all fairy tales and rainbows and butterflies like in your children's books. There are savages, and there are corrupted beings. Murderers, thieves. Anything dangerous, you name it." 

"What kind of dangerous things?" The prince asked the sailor curiously. 

The sailor removed his hand from Nico's shoulder, for which he was kind of grateful. "Monsters, cannibals, witches. Or even worse, you might encounter the demons of the sea." 

"The demons of the sea?" Nico raised a eyebrow. "What are those?" 

"Pirates," the man said gruffly. "Those sea dogs have no hearts, no conscience. They only steal, kill, and sink ships. Nevertheless, they all have the same fate." 

"And what is that?" Nico asked, despite that he had somewhat of an idea. 

"For their necks to be tied up in a noose, hanging over the harbor," the man barked. 

"Oh." He had read about pirates and their consequences. Maybe he and Leo's fictitious plans were not very well thought-out after all. "Well, serves them right, I suppose." 

He had always put pirates up on a high pedestal. They were free; their lives were full of adventure: sword-fighting, ship raiding, traveling to islands, attacking other pirate ships, and searching for buried treasure. He supposed they weren't viewed the best by other sailors, however. They were the ones who were getting raided by them, anyway. 

"Pirates are all demons," the sailor continued. "I speak from experience." 

"What happened?" Nico asked, interested. Call him childish, but he always had loved stories with adventure. 

"About a year ago, a few of my mates and I were sailing on a cargo ship to Ireland," he began. "Three-quarters of the way there, we were attacked by pirates. Percy Jackson and his crew on the Black Coral, I think. The crew is surprisingly young, even today, but don't underestimate them. Jackson is actually really good with that sword of his, Riptide, as some people call it. 

"They had our ship sinking in about five minutes. They stole our goods and gold, and only a few of us made it out alive. We managed to stay afloat on debris we found. Fortunately, around dawn, a ship came and pulled us aboard. We told them the story, and they took us back to Ireland." 

"Why did you continue to sail, then?" Nico inquired. 

"I had to do something to support my family," the man answered. "That, and life is full of near-death experiences. You just have to get back on the ship and continue to work; pirates will all be killed at some point. Even Percy Jackson and his crew. That Black Coral will find itself on the bottom of the ocean, soon enough." 

"I suppose so," Nico agreed, delving back into his thoughts in the deep, blue waters of the ocean.


	4. Eyes as Deep as the Ocean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ship is attacked by a band of pirates. Nico finds himself locked in battle with the nefarious, yet strangely charming, Captain Perseus Jackson.

Nico closed his eyes as he settled down on his barrack under his scratchy blanket. He didn't want to be tired, but it had been a long day of helping the crew with the ship, such as fixing the sails. Leo had been a great help with them, since he was good with tools, which Nico had no idea that he was. Nico supposed that people learn new things every day.

The weather, unlike the night before, was calm and quiet; Nico could hear the waves gently brushing against the sides of the ship, and there was no wind to be heard. He supposed that was improvement from the thunder and the stormy currents that rocked the ship back and forth, making the prince feel queasy. 

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes once more; it had been a long day, and he knew it was going to be an even more eventful day the next. He pulled the rough blanket up to his chest and rolled over to his side, in fear of falling out of the barrack. 

With a yawn, he slung his arm lazily over the blanket, involuntarily exhausted. But, even in his soporific state, his mind escaped to outside of the ship, wondering what lied beyond where they were sailing. He suspected the destination of the ship was drawing near, his freedom coming to a close, nearer and nearer by the second. 

No longer tired, the now restless prince crept out of his barrack and tiptoed up the stairs and out of the sleeping quarters, carefully trying not to step on any creaky floorboards and wake anyone up. He did step on a few noisy boards, but, fortunately, the men were either heavy sleepers, or they must have worked very hard today. Nico agreed upon the former. 

As he stepped onto the main deck, the night breeze gently kissed his skin, making him feel calmer instantly. It also made him forget about his future, which was exactly what he wanted. That was the wind's influence over him: to make him feel tranquil and swipe the painful thoughts of the inevitable away from his mind. Most of all, it made him feel free, that he was away from everyone and everything that tried to force him into things, that he finally could live his own life, write it page by page, rather than following it by how the book instructed him to. 

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, son?" Nico recognized the voice of the sailor that he had conversed with a couple of days ago. 

"I'm tired, yet I'm restless, if you can comprehend the meaning," Nico responded, leaning against the railing once again. 

"You cannot sleep?" the man asked, confused. "Hadn't we labored you hard enough?" 

"Physically, I'm tired, but my mind is not," the prince explained. "My mind desires to wander, although it recognizes my exhaustion." 

"I would offer you some rum, but you are not yet old enough, and you're royalty. Your father would request for my neck to be tied in a noose," the man joked. 

"No, thank you," was Nico's reply. 

His attention got yanked away once again by the sea, which seemed to want to beckon the young boy towards it, to pull him in and envelop him with the salty waves until he hadn't a breath left. However, it didn't. That was one of the reasons Nico was fascinated by it. 

The sparkling, dark blue surface didn't look like it held much, but in the depths, it held more than Nico could ever imagine, and he knew that fact quite well. The sea, where the most adventure takes place, yet it always slipped out of Nico's fingers, leaving only a single trace that it was there in the first place. He wished he could hold onto it, so that it could never leave, and that Nico could be happy, living a life full of excitement and intriguing tales that he could tell for hours on end. Oh, how he wished. 

After a moment of observing the mysterious surface of the shimmering ocean, illuminated by the moonlight like a polished, flat, dark blue crystal, he saw a shape appear upon the horizon. A dark shape that gradually got larger and larger as if it was slowly approaching their small cargo ship. Nico squinted in the darkness at the shape as it got closer. Soon, it was near enough that he saw a flag waving in the wind, but it was too dark to see the design. 

"No..." the sailor muttered. "Not again!" 

"...Again?" Nico asked. "What do you mean by that?" 

"It's... They're..." he stammered. "It's the Black Coral!" 

Now that ship was closer, he could see that it was much larger than their own, and on its flag was a skull, over an elaborate trident that contrasted with the rest of the flag. The sails looked clean, as if the ship was new, but Nico knew that it had been terrorizing the seas for years on end, and it was no exception for Nico and the cargo ship. Once he heard it was a pirate ship, he didn't even need a second thought to realize that the ship he was currently standing on was going to be sitting on the bottom of the ocean very soon. 

He looked behind him to see that the sailor must have went downstairs to the quarters to warn everyone that they were about to be attacked by pirates, since all the members of the crew were shouting and running around on the main deck. The captain was already trying to get away like mad, shouting orders at all the men to tend to the sails, but it was to no avail. The crew of the Black Coral was already jumping on to the deck of the ship. 

Captain Percy Jackson stood in all of his glory on the deck of the doomed ship, a golden cutlass strapped at his hip for easy access in case if anyone decided to try and be the hero. The captain of their own ship had his gun out, aimed right at the young boy's face. 

Percy Jackson only smirked deviously, as if he had been expecting it. Other members of the pirate crew intercepted the captain and, with a swing of a cutlass and a quick shot from a pistol, the weapon was out of the captain of the cargo ship's hand and dark crimson blood leaked from the circular wound in his chest. The captain toppled backwards and off the side of the ship, most likely dead before he hit the water. 

"Surrender your ship, or all of ye be condemned to Davy Jones's Locker," the pirate declared, with an overconfident grin plastered on his face. 

All the crew, the cowards they were, didn't disobey. Nico, however, considered this to be part of an adventure right out of one of his books, and decided to live how he chose, despite the consequences he might endure. He would rather death than live a lie, anyway. 

As swift as a bolt of lightning may strike the ground, Nico picked up a sword and aimed it right at the young pirate captain's throat, who's eyes widened with surprise, as well as everyone else's on the ship. 

"No!" Leo shouted. "Your Highness!" At that moment, Leo recognized his mistake and slapped one of his hands over his mouth. 

"Your highness, hm?" Percy smirked again, as if he didn't have a blade pressing against his throat. 

Nico glared at him and tried to predict the pirate's next move. He ducked just in time to miss his face getting sliced by the cutlass Percy was holding. It was an incandescent gold, with little Greek letters inscribed on the shiny, golden blade. Riptide, Nico assumed. 

"Impressive, your highness," Percy teased. "Anyhow, ye looks a little young for a king." 

"And you look a little young for a shit-eating pirate captain," Nico retorted as he made his next blow. 

"Tsk. Language, your majesty," Percy scolded the prince in an irritating, teasing tone. "Royalty shouldn't possess a tainted tongue." 

"Oh, is that so? You should watch me cut out yours!" Nico struck again. 

No one interfered. It was a fight between royalty and a pirate, and their blade battle made the once silent, tranquil night full of intensity and the sounds of metal-against-metal collisions, the two boys swinging their sharp weapons at their opponent and narrowly dodging each other's attacks. 

Percy dodged it hardly, trying to swing at Nico, but the prince of Italy countered the blade with his own in frustration. The pirate was very skilled, Nico noticed. Perhaps the reason for his dexterity with his cutlass was that he had been doing it for years, and that would make anyone be very experienced with a sword of any kind. Fortunately, Nico had been training for years, as well, inspired by his passion for adventure, and wanting to be able to protect himself. He didn't want a knight to do all the work for him. 

In spite of his frustration, Nico found it intriguing that he finally sought someone challenging for him. Nico figured that their knights had struggled in some areas, and that included brawling with swords. Or they just didn't want to hurt him, since they would get in trouble with the king. That was most likely the reason. 

The prince's blade skimmed the pirate's forearm, making a shallow cut in his tan skin. Percy glanced at the wound briefly, before looking back at Nico's face with another one of his cocky grins. 

"Talented," he commented, thrusting his sword toward the younger boy. "Where did you learn how to sword-fight? Did your nursemaid teach you?" 

"No, I taught myself," Nico replied, ignoring Percy's insult and countering his blow. 

"Impressive, little king." Percy grinned. "Where do you rule, anyway? Your accent is very attractive." 

"Italy, you arrogant swine," Nico snapped, blushing slightly at being complimented. 

Percy noticed, maneuvering his sword so that their blades criss-crossed over each other, their faces so close in proximity to the other's that they could feel their warm breaths on their cold cheeks. "That's sexy," Percy muttered so that only the prince could hear. 

Nico gasped. He didn't notice heretofore how attractive Percy was. His eyes were twinkling viridian orbs that were as deep as the ocean, itself. A corner of his mouth was pulled up into a smirk, that made his eyes sparkle even more so. His eyes were so full of emotion, Nico couldn't stop staring at them. 

His face flushed red at being so close to an attractive male. He never had enough confidence to be so close with another man, since the concept was highly frowned upon. 

Percy swiftly pulled his blade away and kicked Nico down onto the deck of the ship, his smile growing wider. 

"So, the little king likes men, huh?" Percy thought. "This ought to be fun." 

Percy offered Nico a hand, which Nico refused out of pride, and remained seated on the main deck of the doomed ship. 

"I win," Percy chuckled. 

The ship was lit aflame and the night suddenly was as bright as day. Nico knew they all were going to die, and because of what? It was all because of him, because he got carried away with his preferences. Because he thought Percy was attractive and he had to study every single detail of his eyes and the rest of his face. 

He was the cause of multiple deaths that night. Nico always did the wrong thing when others needed him to do the right thing the most. He realized that he was selfish. Maybe he was better off drowning in the ocean rather than ruling a country. Selfish people did not deserve to live, let alone rule a whole country full of people that needed all the help they could get. 

Right as Nico gave up, right as he clenched his eyes shut, angry tears trailing down his cheeks, and the smoke filled his lungs, he felt strong arms wrap around his frame and lift him up. Then, the world became black.


	5. Rescued?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the ship went down, Nico awoke in a strange place. He finds it difficult to decide whether he was captured or rescued.

Nico's vision was obnoxiously bright and blurry as he slowly regained consciousness. His head felt light, yet ached when he sat up, and once he did, he began coughing and wheezing, attempting to be rid of the smoke that defiled his lungs.

Soon enough, his coughing ceased, and his vision cleared up from his nausea, enabling him to see where he was. Where was he? He had no idea. All he knew was that he was lying on comfortable silk sheets in a bed, in a room where the blinding sunlight shone on his face and the air smelled like the ocean, which he admired. The bed was also really warm. He looked behind him, seeing a large window that wrapped around the back wall of the room. 

Once Nico looked out, however, all he saw were the gentle waves in the ocean, and the tracks that wherever he was right now was making in the water. He was in a ship, and he was at the stern. He knew that much. 

The memory recollected in his brain, and he remembered that he felt warm, strong arms wrap around him, holding him tightly. Was he perhaps rescued from the pirates? How soon did they show? How did they know that the ship was being intercepted by pirates? Nico hadn't seen a single ship other than the Black Coral and his cargo ship, which was now debris on the bottom of the ocean. 

Looking around, Nico saw weapons and maps and doubloons that littered a table against one of the walls of the room. The weapons looked shiny, and the maps looked old. 

After observing the anatomy of the room, he realized that he hadn't gotten up out of the bed, nor did he want to, since it was comfortable. As the Prince of Italy recollected his thoughts, he realized that he must have been in the Captain's Quarters, that place was obviously not meant for just a sailor. 

Where was he? He needed to find out. He tossed the soft blanket that was draped over him aside, exposing his bare legs to the coldness of the air. Bare legs? Had he been undressed? The thought of a stranger undressing him gave him an unsettling feeling. The only one who really undressed him was Leo, and that was to get ready for bed. 

Speaking of his pointy-eared servant, where was he? Was he even alive? Nico felt a massive cloud of guilt form in his stomach, ingesting his insides and making his head spin. Was he perhaps rescued, as well? Nico sure hoped. 

He swung his legs over the side of his bed and placed his bare feet on the wood of the floor. Hopefully he wouldn't get a splinter. He rose to his feet, stepping as silently as he could around the room to find something to cover himself with. He was on a ship full of strangers, he didn't want to be seen that exposed. He was royalty, although he didn't want to be. 

He wondered how far from Italy he was. He hoped they weren't on their way there. He wanted to be free for as long as possible, to avoid his inevitable inprisonment. Well, maybe not imprisonment, but it felt like it to Nico. He felt like he was chained to a tree and this was his one chance at getting as far away from that tree as he could. He didn't want to go back to it. The shackles were cold and he didn't want to be chained to that tree. Never again. 

He looked upon the desk that was full of doubloons and maps and sharp weapons to see a pile of neatly folded clothing. He assumed that they were meant for him. He was only in a shirt, which was slightly damp. He pulled the clothing over his head and tossed it upon the floor, intending to pick it up after he changed. 

He stepped into the legs of the brown pants, tugging them up his legs. The pants fit nicely; the fabric was loose, but fit perfectly around his hips. He then slid the shirt onto his lithe torso. It also fit loosely, but it wasn't too bad; he wasn't swimming in it. 

After changing into the clothing, he grabbed his own shirt that lied abandoned on the floor and folded it neatly before placing it on the desk, where the pile of clothing he was currently wearing once sat. There were no shoes, unfortunately, which caused Nico to feel incompetent, since he remembered that he left his own in the barracks. He cursed himself and his logic. Instead of scolding himself, he decided to go and see the ship that he was on, and thank the people who had rescued him. 

Once he opened the door which led to the rest of the ship, he was greeted by the salty ocean breeze and the welcoming calls of seagulls in the blue sky that was full of fluffy, white clouds. Perfect weather. 

The deck of the ship was much larger than the cargo ship's. There were large sails nearly as white as the clouds, themselves, which appeared as if they were new. The starboard and port sides of the ship had several cannons aimed at the sea, and Nico was tempted to fire one. However, he had seen people walk by, all dressed as if they had been at sea for quite a while. 

"Ah, you're finally awake, your majesty," a girlish voice addressed him. 

He looked over at the general direction from where the voice originated, seeing a young, swarthy girl with unruly, curly hair, who couldn't be any older than fourteen. She had a white bandana wrapped around her forehead, which contrasted against her hair and skin. However, the trait that stood out the most was her eyes, which were a lovely shade of gold that made her skin look like it was glowing. 

"Yes," Nico replied. "How long was I asleep?" 

"Since last night, when captain brought you aboard," the girl told him. "He also brought a curly-haired boy aboard. He looks funny, kind of like a woodland creature." 

"Leo?" Nico asked. "He's alive?" 

"Yes, very much." 

Nico sighed in relief. His friend hadn't died because of him, for which he was grateful. 

"Your majesty, are you feeling alright?" she asked, looking concerned. "You might have inhaled too much smoke from the fire." 

"I feel fine, thank you," Nico informed her, giving her a slight smile. "Where is Leo?" 

"Oh, of course, he's down in the barracks," she said. "He's been awake for a few hours, methinks." 

"He has?" Nico asked. 

"Yes, he wanted to see you, but you were still sleeping in Captain's bed," the girl said. "I'll take you down there, he will be pleased to see you." 

She walked over to a small staircase that led down into the ship. The deck below was dark, but he could see the outlines of barrels and cannons embedded in the sides of the ship. The curly-haired girl kept walking, approaching a door at what Nico thought was the back of the ship. He followed closely behind her, but gave her space when she opened the door to the barracks. 

"Your Highness!" Leo greeted. "You're awake at last!" 

"Yes, I am," Nico said. "How are you feeling? Are you hurt in any way?" 

"No," Leo replied. "Since when was it your job to worry about me? I should be the one worried about you! I am your servant, after all." 

"You're his servant?" the girl asked him. 

"Yes, I am," Leo confirmed to the young girl. 

"All right," the girl nodded. "Oh! I forgot! The captain wished to see you once you had awoken. Come with me, your majesty. You may accompany us, Leo, if you wish." 

"Of course, of course," Leo told her, following the two younger people out of the barracks and upon the main deck. 

"Have you seen the captain lately?" she asked a blonde haired boy walking by. 

He shook his head. "He usually is in his quarters or at the helm, but he is at neither." 

"Oh, thank you anyway," she told him as he walked away. She emitted a disappointed sigh. "How could I possibly find him when he disappears to God knows where and no one is of much help?" 

"Is he up in the crow's nest?" Leo suggested. 

"No, Jason is usually up there, and he would have seen him if he was up there," she replied. "Oh, I might have a clue who knows where he is." 

She rushed over to one of the two staircases that led to the helm, which were adjacent to the door that led to the Captain's Quarters, and stepped up them quickly, Leo and Nico quickly following. She walked swiftly to the helm, at which an older girl stood, her calculating grey eyes focused upon the calm, blue waves of the sea and the wind rustling through her wavy, blonde hair as she turned the wheel around to make the ship avoid a pile of large rocks. 

"Annabeth!" the young girl called. 

"Hmm?" The girl at the wheel turned her head to look upon the small girl and the two boys that stood beside her. "Oh, the royal is awake. You should tell Captain that he is, he wanted to see him." 

"I am well aware," the curly haired girl told the blonde, called Annabeth. "What I am not aware of at the moment is the location of the captain." 

"He is in the galley, I believe," Annabeth told the girl. "I believe Piper is preparing her 'special stew' tonight." 

"I adore Piper's cooking," the younger girl commented dreamily. "Now, I shall bring his majesty and his servant to him." 

She beckoned to the two boys, who followed. Nico waved at the girl standing at the helm, who nodded politely at him before her eyes fastened upon the sea once more. 

The galley was a large compartment in the ship, the smell of stew wafting in the air, which was pleasing to any member of the crew if they passed by. Nico was pleased with the smell, quite relieved that he was given something other than the bland food he ate on the cargo ship. 

"Get your filthy fingers out of my stew, Jackson!" a feminine voice scolded someone, accompanied by a masculine laughter. "This is why I don't make this often, you keep contaminating this sacred stew with your tainted hands!" 

"He's here, alright," the dark-skinned girl sighed. "Captain!" 

"That's me," that familiar, cocky voice rang from inside the galley. The captain of the ship peeked around the corner with a playful shine in his beautiful green eyes and his raven hair unruly and unkempt as ever. Once his eyes locked with the prince's, a toothy grin broke upon his face. "Why, hello, Your Highness. Finally awake?"


	6. The Italian Armada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Hades sends out the Italian Armada to find his son, who he was informed was kidnapped by the infamous pirate, Perseus Jackson. Meanwhile, Nico joins the crew.

Nico was speechless. Leo and himself had been...captured? Rescued? He had no idea. All the prince really acknowledged at the moment was that the feared, notorious pirate, Perseus Jackson, was standing in front of him casually, as if he hadn't just sunken a ship the night before and most likely killed most of the people on it. But not Nico or Leo. That baffled the prince of Italy more than anything.

"What's wrong, Little King? Did the smoke take away your ability to speak?" 

"O-of course not, I can speak fine," Nico told the captain. 

"Perfect." 

"Why did you save me?" Nico asked with an intense tone. 

"Ah, cutting right to the chase?" Percy responded, tauntingly. "That's no fun." 

"You are not answering my question," barked Nico, setting a cold glare on the pirate. 

"Alright, alright." Percy swatted his hand in annoyance. "I liked the way you fought back there." 

"What?" Nico asked, incredulity lining his voice. "But...I lost!" 

"That may be so," Percy stated. "However, not many boys your age can fight like that, let alone royalty. You will be useful to our crew, especially in pillaging and combat with other pirates." 

"What are you implying?" Nico inquired. 

"I'm inviting you to join our crew on the Black Coral," Percy clarified. "So, what do you say?" 

Nico pondered it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the situation in his mind. The sailor's voice broke into his thoughts, his phrases repeating themselves like a mantra. "Nevertheless, they all have the same fate. For their necks to be tied up in a noose, hanging over the harbor. Pirates will all be killed at some point." 

Despite the consequences, his thirst for adventure was great. He had only seen them for a night, and he already felt the anticipatory flashes of excitement, a taste of the adventure he had desired all of his life. However, it was just a single taste, and he desired more. He wanted to live incessant piles of stories that could be told to many future generations, written by his own actions, and he couldn't have that if he returned to Italy. He might never even have returned to that insanitary hellhole never again if he joined the crew. 

He loved pirates, anyway. He valued them above mostly everything all his life. Even if he died the first day of being recruited onto the Black Coral, that would still be better than returning home to his father and living a lie. He could find another heir, quite easily. There were lots of able men more qualified to be the future ruler of Italy than he, anyway. He'd never have to return to that tree he was bound to by the cold shackles of obligation and coercion. He could write his own future, and that was all he wanted. Not to mention, the pirates and adventure were a bonus. 

"Yes, I'll join your crew." 

\- - - - - 

"I will not ask you again. Where is my son?!" King Hades harshly asked the sailors, who were on their knees on the white tile floor, presented in front of the terrifying King of Italy's throne. 

"We don't know," one of them said. "He must've went down with the ship." 

"Your one obligation was to bring him to England and back alive and to scare him out of wanting to explore the world!" the King shouted. "Execute them all." 

The knights standing by the sailors' sides lifted off the ground by their underarms and began to drag them away, aiming for the dark, dirty dungeons of the castle. 

"Wait!" a sailor protested, struggling against the knight's grip on his arms. "I remember! I saw him...getting carried off of the ship...while it was burning...by a pirate." 

"A pirate?" the king, now curious, ordered the knights to release the sailors with a gesture of his royal hand. "Which one? Of which ship did he sail?" 

"Perseus Jackson of the Black Coral," the sailor answered. "He kidnapped your son, the prince of Italy." 

"Perseus Jackson? He captured my only heir?" 

The sailor nodded fearfully. 

"Knights!" the King ordered. "Keep them alive, tell the servants to prepare rooms for them until further notice. Once you completed that task, place a bounty upon the capture of Perseus Jackson. If there already is one, double it! Triple it! Send out our entire armada! It doesn't matter how many fleets of ships or men are sent! I must have my heir back here, alive and safe, or Italy will be no more, ravaged by war! Queen Bellona of Spain requires the betrothal of our children by the summer solstice, or else she will declare war upon us! Go now! That is an official order from your king!" 

\- - - - - 

"Your highness?" Leo addressed Nico, an unsure tone in his voice. "Are you positive this is the path you wish to follow? The path of a pirate? They just killed multiple people yesternight. They could have killed us." 

"I am well aware of their actions, Leo," Nico told his servant. "However, they didn't kill us. Despite their harsh actions, I told you I wanted to live my life, not follow it. This is the adventure I had always dreamed of. Don't you want me to be happy?" 

"Of course I do, your highness," Leo said in an exasperated tone. "But I am cautious of your safety. You should realize that you are very impulsive. Last night, you challenged a pirate captain in a duel of blades, and you lost. He is only just a boy, like us. Imagine the amount of difficulty you will encounter if you meet men twice his difficulty in sword-fighting." 

"He recognized my skill, you were there to experience it," Nico argued. "I've trained most of my life, and being recruited onto his crew means even more practice, with people twice as experienced as the instructors whom I learnt from, which are myself and plenty of books. What is the harm of learning?" 

"That is only a trivial fact compared to-" 

"Leo, this is the path I've chosen," Nico interrupted. "It's either you accept it, or leave me be. It's your choice." 

Leo was silent for a long while. The prolonged silence was enough of an answer to the prince. He emitted a defeated sigh. 

"Fine, I'll discuss with Captain arrangements to get you back to Italy," Nico told his former servant, his voice lined with horribly-masked disappointment. "I hope I'll see you again, but if I don't, I wish upon you a happy, prosperous life." 

"Well, if you say it like that..." Leo sighed. "I shall accompany you on your foolish endeavors, just to ensure that you don't get yourself killed." 

The largest grin spread across the prince's face, happy and relieved at the fact his good friend was staying with him. 

"Oh, trust me, I probably will be the one who will prevent you from perishing, my humble elf servant," Nico joked. 

"For the final time, I am not an elf!" Leo snapped. 

"I will stop calling you an elf once you stop looking like one," Nico countered with a triumphant grin. 

"Don't make me change my mind, Prince-Arranged-Marriage," Leo retorted. 

Nico laughed. "That's Nico to you." 

\- - - - - 

"Change of plans," the knight told the sailor, who was sitting patiently on the bed in his newly-prepared room. "You will be boarding the Queen Maria at daybreak. You shall sail with the armada, on the search for Prince Nico. King's orders." 

"Y-yes, sir," the sailor responded before the knight left the room, slamming the door behind him. 

\- - - - - 

"We have a new recruit," Percy happily announced at the dining table. "He was royalty, but decided to give up his life of ruling and join us, our crew." 

"The King?" 

"I believe so," the usually cocky pirate captain uncharacteristically chirped. "So, Little King, why did you join our little pirate crew?" 

"Oh, I'm not the king of Italy," Nico told the pirates. 

"So, you're not King Hades of Italy?" the golden-eyed girl asked. 

"Certainly not!" Nico stated. "I am his offspring, his heir. I am the prince of Italy." 

"Why do you wish to abandon your future in royalty?" the girl called Piper asked. 

Nico was silent. He didn't want to explain the reason for abandoning his future. He was trying to escape his past, not relive it. 

"I would rather not talk about it," Nico answered. 

"Come on." She nudged him in the arm with her elbow. "We're your crew now. Your new family. You can confide with us. Well, maybe not Jason, but-" 

"Don't believe her," the blonde boy interjected. "If you need any help, you can come and talk to me." 

"His head is full of barnacles and lint," Piper joked. "If you need anyone to help you, I'm your best bet." 

"Since when?" Jason scoffed in disbelief. "I swear it upon my mother that I could do nearly anything better than you." 

"Do not swear upon your mother, Jason," Piper scolded. "She is twice the man you will ever be." 

"You are insufferable," Percy smirked adoringly, yet stopping the argument. "I still don't know why I put up with you two." 

"But, still, Prince of Italy, why abandon your royal path?" Annabeth asked, ignoring the two bickering pirates. "Do you not wish to rule in the future?" 

"That's only a small portion of it," said Nico, dejectedly. 

"I suppose that your father is a tyrant, then?" the golden-eyed girl asked. 

"No, he can get harsh from all of the burden of being King some moments, but all he needs in those scenarios are a glass of cold water and a moment's rest," Nico answered. 

"Ah, I see." Percy gave him a look of empathy. "Arranged marriage?" 

"Unfortunately, yes," Nico sighed. 

"To whom?" Annabeth asked him. 

"Princess Reyna of Spain." Nico stared forlornly down at the silverware in his hand, filling the spoon with stew then emptying it back in the bowl, all the while looking depressed. 

"Princess Reyna?" Annabeth asked, her interest peaked. 

"Yes, I am being forced to marry her," Nico responded. "Subsequently, Italy will be allied with Spain, so they will not be prompted into war." 

"Well, that's all behind you, now." Piper smiled at him. "You're one of us, now!" 

Everyone agreed, grabbing their glasses in front of them and raising them up. 

"Toast to the new recruits!" Piper cheered. 

Scattered agreements followed, accompanied by the pirates putting the glasses to their lips and chugging the liquid inside down their throats. 

Nico stared at them in awe. Was that what he was going to be like after months, or even years, at sea? He stared down at the drink the pirates seemed to enjoy. 

"Well, aren't you going to drink any?" Piper asked Nico. 

"What is it?" Nico asked, examining the brown liquid in the glass. 

"Rum, of course," Piper answered as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "A Pirate's Juice." 

"Please consider rephrasing," Jason told her. 

"Do I have to drink it?" Nico asked her. 

"Yes," she replied with a short laugh. "Consider it initiation. Drink it." 

Nico switched his eyes from Piper, a brown-haired, copper-skinned girl with beads braided into her choppy hair, to his glass full of the rum that he was hesitant about drinking. Her eyes seemed like kaleidoscopes; he couldn't tell what color they were. One moment, he was convinced that they were green, the next, brown. Her rapidly changing eye color was beginning to give him a headache. 

He looked from Piper to the liquid in his glass once more before clenching his eyes shut and reluctantly pouring the contents of the glass into his mouth. It couldn't possibly be poisoned, could it? Why would it be? 

It tasted bitter on his tongue, but it had a strangely saccharine aftertaste. It wasn't half bad. All of the pirates cheered and whistled at the Prince, which made him feel more...welcome. Elation filled his stomach at being part of the jolly crew. 

"So, this is rum?" the prince asked. 

"Yes, our finest for a special occasion," said Percy as he poured himself another glass. "We never had the honor of having royalty aboard our crew." His sea-green eyes locked with Nico's. The look in his eyes wasn't intimidating or teasing, but more relaxed and calm, like the ocean on a day where the skies were clear and the breeze gentle. "Welcome aboard the Black Coral, Little King. I hope it surpasses your expectations."


	7. The Pirate Code

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico adjusts to his life as a pirate...only to have his life threatened almost instantaneously.

"Piper, you've outdone yourself once again," Percy complimented her after finishing his second bowl of stew that the whole crew deemed legendary.

"Thanks, Captain," Piper replied. "It would be better if you kept your fingers out of it when I'm preparing it, aye?" 

Percy laughed. "I am simply taste-testing it. I might not know if it's going to be good or not, and I want to make sure that the rest of me crew isn't poisoned." 

"Since when has my cooking been bad?" Piper asked him. 

The rest of the crew agreed with her. 

"She always gets the best ingredients," Annabeth said. "And with perfect ingredients, perfect amounts, and perfect preparation, there is Piper's perfect stew." 

"She goes and selects the fish herself," Jason added. 

"That is true," Piper told Percy. 

"Alright, alright, maybe I want to try some before anyone else does." Percy grinned, which got him smacked playfully on the arm by the kaleidoscope-eyed girl. 

"What do you mean she selects the fish herself?" Nico inquired. "Do you fish with a net, she determines the best ones, and you throw the rest out?" 

"No, of course not," Piper told the prince. "That would take far too long and be too tedious." 

"Then how do you select them yourself?" the confused prince questioned. "They would be rotten if you take them from cargo ships or other ships that you capture." 

"I only use the freshest ingredients I can get ahold of," she replied. 

"Your highness," the golden-eyed girl addressed. "Piper is a siren. She is able to breathe underwater." 

"A siren?" Nico queried, incredulous. "Sirens don't exist, do they? They are only mythology, right?" 

"Excuse me," Piper offendedly looked over at him. "I am a siren. We do exist, but most of us are concealed, hidden away until we need nourishment, like fish and other sea creatures. Humans, if we're lucky. I, myself, don't like to eat humans. They're dirty, and you never know where they've been. Like Percy, for example." 

"I am not that dirty!" the captain defended. "I go for a swim in the ocean every other day, and it keeps me clean enough." 

"Allegedly," Piper joked. 

"Do sirens have the enchanting singing voice, like mythology says?" Nico asked her. 

"Yes, but I don't like to use it," Piper told him. "My voice isn't too powerful, and it is a little painful. I can only charm one or two people at a time, sometimes it doesn't work at all. It's not worth the pain. I only use it in life-or-death situations." 

"And how often are those?" 

"Not as often as you think," Piper said. "Our crew is talented. We're all young, so we aren't taken seriously until our opponents have been pierced with a cutlass or a bullet." 

"However, once in a while, we encounter a group of pirates that have heard of our skill, and one or two of us find themselves without a weapon," the golden-eyed girl said. "That is where Piper uses her voice and rescues them." 

"I also am accustomed to using daggers, so that is useful as well," Piper added. 

"That is impressive," Nico told her. "I have never gotten the hang of daggers, myself. I prefer swords." 

"You are quite good with them, as well," Percy commented. "I might have lost if I had not complimented you. Me 'loyal crew' did not help me at all." 

"Well, it was entertaining watching you get your pride absolutely shattered," Piper said. 

"It really was," Annabeth agreed. 

"Piper, it is past the time for you to take your swim, is it not?" Percy addressed. "I noticed you forgot to this morning, with the prince being unconscious and all." 

"Oh, right, thank you for reminding me, captain," she said, standing up from the table and running up to the main deck. 

"She has to be in water at least once every day, or else she will dry up," the young girl whispered in Nico's ear. 

He nodded understandingly. 

"When is Leo going to come up?" Nico thought. "He has been downstairs for hours. Was he told dinner had been served?" 

"Has Leo come up?" Nico asked all the pirates sitting around the table. 

"Yes, he took some stew down with him," Annabeth answered. "Apparently, he is good with tools, so he is fixing a barrack beam in the living quarters that was damaged." 

"I see." Nico nodded. "While on the topic, where am I going to sleep?" 

"I will prepare a barrack for you, your highness," the golden-eyed girl offered. 

"Thank you, Hazel," Percy said. "Once you are done here, go down and see Leo, while you are down there." 

"Aye, captain." She stood up from her seat and went downstairs. 

"She is really sweet," Percy told Nico. "She is like our lucky charm. She never fails us, either. A large amount of our profit is from her. She seems to like ye. Good thing she does, too. She needs people to trust, considering her past and all." 

"Her...past?" Nico asked him. 

"She was a West African slave," Percy answered. "We rescued her from a trade-off and recruited her to our crew. She loves it here, too. She loves treasure hunting, and she can sew. She helps us repair our sails. Hazel is like a sister to me." 

Nico understood. He would do anything to bring his sister back, but she was gone, and it was forever irreversible. There was no possible way to bring her to life again. 

\- - - - - 

"The way we live is by the Pirate's Code of Conduct, usually referred to as the Pirate's Code, or just the Code," Hazel told Nico as they prepared his barrack. "They are rules that we choose to live by, out of fairness, or just for fun." 

She tied the end of the barrack to the ceiling of the quarters in a secure knot while Nico tied the other end. "For example, mutiny. We could do it to Percy whenever we would like, but we would be deemed disloyal, and that is one of the worst things a pirate could be. Anyway, we like Percy. He is a good captain, and his policies are fairer than most." 

"So, you can do whatever you please?" Nico asked, tightening his knot. 

"Yes, we can usually do what we want," Hazel answered. "He is not a tyrant. He's actually pretty friendly. He seems to like you, and that is something people usually have to earn. You are a lucky one." 

"I am?" Nico queried. 

"Yes," Hazel said. "He is generous and kind, too. Pretty sarcastic most of the time, but he is very humorous, and he knows his way around a sword. He is like a brother to me. I owe him my life." 

"He seemed pretty overconfident when we met," Nico added. 

"First impressions are not everything," Hazel told the prince. "Although, he can get pretty hubristic during combat. He is usually confident during battles he thinks he can lose to throw the opponent off." 

"Does he really think I am as talented as he?" Nico asked her. 

"Of course, your highness," Hazel responded. "If not more, actually. Otherwise, he would have left you to drown." 

"I suppose so," Nico agreed in a grim tone. 

\- - - - - 

That night was the stormiest it had been in years. The forceful waves tossed the Black Coral around on the sea like it weighed nothing. The wind blew the ship backwards while the ocean pushed it in all directions as the crew manned the sails and different stations to direct it out of the stormy waters. Percy stood at the helm, the rain heavily pouring on him, soaking himself and his clothes, and the powerful wind blinding him. 

Jason climbed down from the crow's nest to avoid being blown away by the overpowering winds while Annabeth and Leo manned the sails, drenched by the askew salt water of the waves. Percy navigated through the angry waves that seemed determined to swallow their ship whole. Nico helped getting the water that pooled around their feet back into the ocean, the boom of the ship swinging around aimlessly. 

"Boom about!" Jason shouted over the loud storm. 

"Wha-" Nico knew too late. The wooden pool swung around and struck him dead in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and sent him flying over the starboard side of the ship. Everything went black before he reached the violent waters. 

\- - - - - 

"Great!" Percy shouted angrily. "Just great! Piper! Can you get him?" 

"I'm a little occupied at the moment!" Piper shouted back at him, fixing the sails wildly blowing in the wind. 

"Annabeth, take the helm!" 

"Yes, captain." Annabeth ran to the quarterdeck, taking the wheel into her hands while Percy ran to the main deck, discarding garments of clothing. 

"Captain, what the hell are you doing?" Jason yelled over the deafening storm. 

"I'm going to get him," Percy shouted back. 

"But, the Code, Captain! And you might drown with the waters being this rough!" 

"Blast the damned code!" the captain yelled. "They're more like guidelines, anyway. We can't afford to lose someone of his talent." 

"We can't afford to lose you, either," Jason argued. 

The captain ignored his first mate as he dove into the stormy seas, the high salinity of the water burning his eyes as he searched for the prince, who Percy was sure was unconscious. Anyone who took a hit like that would be, unless they possessed the strength of ten men. He finally caught sight of the boy, his eyes shut and his inky mane floating upwards toward the surface as the prince plummeted deeper in the dark ocean. 

Percy, his lungs needing air, maneuvered his arms as he swam down to the drowning boy, grabbing his thin arm tightly in his hand as he moved up to the surface with his free arm, despite the weight that was pulling him down into the depths. 

Once the pirate captain emerged from the surface with a gasp, he gratefully accepted every breath he could inhale, dark spots dancing in the corners of his vision. He moved his hand from Nico's arm to around his waist, swimming toward the large ship of his, battling the rough, demanding waves as he reached the rope ladder his first mate had thrown down the ship's starboard side. He grabbed onto it with his open hand, pulling the unconscious prince toward himself as he began to climb. 

That was probably one of the hardest physical things Percy had ever attempted: climbing up a rope ladder in the middle of a rough storm at sea with a wet, insentient prince pulling him down. Eventually, the exhausted pirate reached the ship's deck, pulling Nico on the deck along with him. Percy sank to his knees to rest his tired arms and the rest of his body before he turned his attention to the prince of Italy lying motionless on the deck, his wet hair and clothes sticking to his skin. 

Percy leaned over him, searching for any sign of life. He swept a stray strand of wet, midnight-black hair away from his face, observing every feature of his visage. 

"Your Highne- I mean, Nico!" Leo shouted, hopping down from his station and looking down upon the immobile prince. "Is he alright? Is he breathing?" 

"I don't think so," Percy said, trying to mask the tone of worry in his voice. "Get back to what you were doing, I've got this covered." 

Leo reluctantly nodded before climbing back up to his position. 

Percy took his knife from his belt and sliced open the fabric of Nico's shirt, feeling along his bare torso for that one spot that got nearly everyone breathing again. He pressed down on the spot above his abdomen, unexpectedly receiving a spurt of ocean water released from the prince's mouth onto his face. He wiped it off with the back of his arm in slight disgust, but at least the prince was breathing again. Slowly and quietly, but still breathing. 

Nico opened his eyes, his vision blurry at first. He began coughing up all the water in his lungs, which burned the vital organs as if they were thrown into a large fire. Once his sight cleared and coughing ceased, he immediately blushed at what he saw. Percy was kneeling over him, a look of relief on his face. However, the pirate's shirt had been removed and Nico could see all of the lines and ripples of his upper body, tanned from all of his days at sea. He also felt the cold rain on his bare upper body, his shirt falling off of his shoulders as he sat up. The fabric had been sliced down the middle. 

"What happened?" Nico asked, trying to lift himself to his feet, but his knees locked and he toppled back down onto the deck. 

"You are still dazed from the hit you took," Percy told him. "I will explain later. But for now-" Percy scooped up the prince in his sore arms. "-you need to get some rest." 

Nico felt heat rise into his cheeks. He was sure that he was blushing, and he hoped that the captain did not notice. Percy carried him into the Captain's Quarters, setting him down on the soft sheets of his bed. Nico felt the blanket being pulled up to his chest before he fell into his deep subconscious.


	8. Dead Men Tell No Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Percy takes care of Nico’s wound, Leo finds that being a pirate can be...fun.

Nico woke once the violent, blinding sunlight hit his face. The prince lifted himself up into a sitting position, a stab of pain in his chest provoking the want of lying back down in the comfortable bed, which was a lot more inviting than an unappealing barrack hanging from the ceiling.

He was grateful Percy had put him in there, but he felt like he woke up there too often. He was afraid that the pirates would deem him a lost cause and throw him overboard, despite the potential the pirate captain somehow saw in him. 

The pain reduced to a dull throb once he lied back down, which was better than it was before; he would rather endure the throbbing of his chest than to endure the unbearable pain of sitting up and straining the wound. He inspected his chest wounds, which were large, dark purple and blue bruises contrasting against his skin. They looked as painful as they were. He restrained himself from touching them. 

All of a sudden, the wooden door to the Captain's Quarter opened, revealing a worried Hazel. 

"Your highness?" she whispered. "Are you awake?" 

"Yes," Nico answered, shuffling slightly in the bed. 

A sudden feeling of sharp pain erupted in his chest at his movements, causing him to wince. 

"Are you able to sit or stand?" she asked, approaching the bed. 

"It is painful if I do," Nico gasped. 

"I'm going to get Captain," Hazel told him. "He ordered me to inform him once you had awoken." 

Nico nodded, wanting an explanation from the captain, as he promised him the night before. 

Hazel smiled warmly at him before closing the door behind herself, rushing to get the captain, who was conversing with Piper at the bow of the ship. 

"Captain!" Hazel ran at him, shouting to get his attention. "Captain! The prince is awake, but he is in pain." 

"Of course he is, after a hit like that!" exclaimed Piper. "How bad is it?" 

"He has lots of dark bruises where the boom hit," Hazel told her. "He is strong for surviving that." 

She winced at the mention of the wound. She had never been hit with the boom of a ship, especially at that speed, mainly since she always tended to the sails during a storm. 

"Thank you Hazel." Percy smiled at the young girl. "Gather the medicine and the herbs that we intercepted from that apothecary ship from Ireland." 

"Yes, Captain," Hazel nodded, running into the lower decks to check the stolen cargo. 

Percy, himself, ran to his Quarters to see the injured prince's state. He saw potential in him, and he didn't want to lose that quality potential. He opened the door, Nico looking up at him. 

"You owe me an explanation," Nico winced. 

"Does it hurt to speak?" Percy asked him, pulling up a stool at the side of the silk-sheeted bed. 

"A little," said Nico. "My lungs and throat burn, and my chest is aching terribly." 

"How terribly is it aching?" Percy asked, examining the cluster of dark bruises along his chest. Percy softly ran the pads of his callused fingers across the bruises, gazing upon Nico's face for a reaction. "Does this hurt?" 

"Yes," Nico gasped, his face flushing red, although it was not from the pain. "Is the wound fatal, Captain?" 

"No," Percy spoke softly, shaking his head slightly. "Hazel will be in here in a moment with the medicines and herbs. It will be over soon. You're strong, you know. Not everyone would be able to survive what happened to you." 

"You never gave me an explanation, as you promised," Nico reminded. "Can you explain why I am in pain?" 

"A pirate hardly ever keeps or acts on his or her promises," Percy told him. "Promise is just an empty word. You should learn that, but I will explain. As you were doing what you were, the boom of the ship swung around at a swift speed, hitting you in the chest and knocking you off the ship. You were unconscious before you hit the water." 

"Shouldn't have Piper went to get me? She is able to breathe underwater, is she not?" asked Nico. 

"Yes she is able to breathe underwater but she was in a very important position on adjusting the sails so we would not be blown away or sink to the bottom of the ocean," Percy explained. "Annabeth was available, but she is not too talented of a swimmer. She is a better navigator. I assigned her to the helm, and I dove in after you." 

"Why?" Nico inquired. "I thought that a pirate that falls behind stays behind, Captain?" 

"You are too full of potential to lose, Little King," Percy told him, caressing his chest wounds. 

Nico winced at the contact. "What potential can I possibly have? I cannot be that talented with swords for you to put your life in danger for me." 

"Ah, but yes you are," Percy corrected. "You are more talented than anyone I had seen your age, let alone self-taught. That talent can be grown into something warrior-like someday. How much did you practice, Little King?" 

"About four hours a day, Captain," Nico panted from the pain. "Every day, unless my father had me in my studies." 

"What did you learn about?" 

"The duties I would perform as king," Nico responded. "I always despised it. I have heard all about it since I could understand. Thank you for recruiting me, Captain. I would already feel at home if I were not in so much pain at the moment." 

"It was worth it." 

Hazel opened the door abruptly. "I finally found the herbs and medicine, Captain!" 

"Thank you Hazel," Percy told her. "Leave it here, I would like you to go and assist Leo with the sails that were damaged." 

"Yes, sir," Hazel nodded before handing the supplies to Percy and running off to help Leo with replacing the sails. 

Percy mixed the herbs and medicines together with expertise. Once a light green paste was formed, he immersed the pads of his two fingers in the medicine before applying the paste onto the bruises on Nico's chest. The paste felt cold at first, but soon relief replaced most of the pain. 

"Does that feel a little better?" the captain asked. 

"Yes," Nico answered. "Thank you for that. How did you know how to do that?" 

"My mother was close with a healer from the apothecary where we lived," Percy explained. "He taught me everything I know, apart from sword-fighting and intercepting ships." 

"Where did you learn to sword fight?" Nico asked. 

"Captain!" Jason shouted, bursting open the door to the Captain's Quarters. "Captain!" 

"What?" Percy asked sternly. "Have you not learned how to knock?" 

"'M sorry, Captain, but this is important!" the first mate vociferated. 

"What is so important?" 

"There's a Spanish ship less than a league off the starboard bow!" Jason told him. 

"Spanish?" the captain inquired, suddenly interested. "Intercept it immediately! Prepare to overhaul it, if it be Spanish. Give no quarter! I will be with you in a moment!" 

"Yes, Captain!" Jason said, leaving the Quarters. "Crew! Avast! Overhaul the Spanish ship! Come about and give no quarter! Captain's orders!" 

"Aye!" the crew responded and began to direct the ship toward the Spanish ship, preparing their weapons to intercept it. 

"Give no quarter?" Nico asked the Captain as he lied in his bed, the relief lessening a bit. 

"Leave no survivors," Percy explained, standing up from his seat at Nico's bedside. "Dead men tell no tales." 

"I see." Nico groaned in pain. 

"You will have to stay here," Percy ordered. "Spaniards always have the best loot! If I come across any more medicine, I'll have Hazel bring it immediately. I won't be long." 

Percy grabbed his Riptide and his lucky flintlock pistol off of the table littered with all sorts of weapons, maps, and compasses, and sheathed the sword in its place at his hip as he ran out of the Captain's Quarters, leaving Nico alone with his thoughts and pain. 

Percy looked upon the ship, which was nearly as large as theirs. "Is it a royal ship?" 

"No, I think it is cargo," Jason told the captain, peering through his spyglass at the ship. "Definitely cargo. The sailors look drunken. That's a good sign, Captain." 

"Aye, it is," Percy agreed. "We should intercept it, then." 

"Aye, Captain," Jason replied. 

It didn't take long for the pirates to shift through the useful cargo and loot what they deemed valuable, such as food, rum, gold, weapons, maps, and medicine. Percy even took some extra clothing for Nico, since he could not spare a pair of shoes for the prince. 

Sailors were shouting, pulling out guns and trying to shoot the pirates. Fortunately, they were drunk and had terrible aim, so not a single bullet hit its target. The pirates, unscathed, climbed the ropes back up to their own ship with their loot and stood upon their deck, feeling the triumph of successfully looting yet another ship and having more supplies to keep them alive and satisfied. 

Leo felt strangely happy, as well. The feeling was exhilarating, yet terrifying at the same time. He didn't regret the decision of staying with Nico to look after him at all. 

The pirates fired a cannon upon the small ship, causing the ship to instantly fill up with water and began to sink into the depths of the ocean. 

Percy went immediately back into his Quarters to check up on Nico, to see if he was improving. Nico lied on his back, adding more paste to his bruises, relief substituting the pain of his wound. 

"Is it hurting more?" Percy inquired. 

"No," Nico replied. "I do not think I have any broken ribs. I might be able to work soon." 

"Do not strain yourself," Percy told him. "You are a member of me crew now, and I don't want you to get any more injured. Stay here for tonight." 

"Where are you going to sleep, then?" Nico queried. 

"I slept down in the barracks the last two nights," Percy answered. "I think I could sleep down there until you fully recover. Is the bed to your liking?" 

Nico nodded. 

"I'm fond of it, too," Percy grinned. "I got it off of a royal ship from England. It was hard getting the bed off the ship and onto ours, but it was worth the effort. This bed is the most comfortable thing I have ever lied on." 

"You intercepted a royal ship?" asked Nico. "Do you now have a large bounty?" 

"Three hundred doubloons, when I last checked," Percy told him proudly. "It is humorous how royals give out rewards to people who capture pirates. It's a pirate's goal to have a higher bounty, which means they have committed more piracy than others. However, if caught by a single ship, or even two, a pirate is not worthy enough to sail. It is a waste of their time. However, if caught by a large fleet, that is not a fair fight. A pirate would have to be legendary to escape that." 

"Three hundred?" Nico repeated. "That is pretty expensive. My father would hate it if anyone in his jurisdiction caught you. He hates giving out rewards." 

"Do you think he would put a bounty on you?" asked Percy. 

"I am not sure." Nico considered the options for a moment. "He most likely would, if I caused danger to his kingdom. However, I am sure that he thinks I went down with the cargo ship." 

"Would he consider the possibility of you being captured by pirates?" 

"I'm not sure if anyone survived the shipwreck, other than Leo and myself, Captain," Nico answered. "Any survivors would tell him otherwise." 

"Dead men tell no tales," Percy repeated. "You should be getting some rest. We are near a day's travel away from the Devil's Port, anyway." 

"The Devil's Port?" Nico inquired. "What is that?" 

"A pirate haven in Ireland," Percy told him. "It is not my kind of place, honestly, but it is where we can get updates on what is happening and get you some medicine. I do not have a clue what to do from now on, and I want to consult a professional healer I know." 

"Is he your mother's close friend?" 

"No, if we go there, I am bound to be discovered by royal guards," Percy deadpanned. "No pirate wants to dance the hempen jig." 

"Oh." Nico did not need an explanation to know that meant he would be hanged. 

"Get some rest, now." Percy bade farewell. "I will send Hazel to check on you in the morning." 

Nico nodded, attempting to sleep, but rest was not as easy as Percy made it out to be. What if someone survived the attack? What if his father knew he was still alive? He sure hoped that he did not, for he would be sought out and brought back to Italy. He would be tied to that tree again, and this time he would never be able to leave.


	9. The Devil’s Port

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Black Coral is docked in a pirate stronghold, where Percy learns his bounty has raised immensely, and Nico initiates a swordfight to protect his crew and to retrieve a strange artifact.

"Come about!" Percy shouted at his crew, glancing upon his compass. The sun was in its highest peak in the skies, marking the day to be at about noon. "We are about thirty leagues south of Ireland! We need to get to The Devil's Port by dusk, or else we will dance the hempen jig!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Piper replied. "However, we need to be careful. On my swim this morning, I saw a reef dangerously close to the surface."

"Sharp eyes, Piper," Percy praised. "Hazel! Have you checked upon the prince yet?" 

"No, I have not," Hazel told him. "I should do that." 

She creaked open the door that led to the Captain's Quarters, peeking in at the sleeping prince. She thought he looked really peaceful as he slept. His eyelashes were so desirably long; they fluttered in his slumber and cast long, thin shadows upon his cheeks.

"Your highness," she called, shaking his shoulder slightly. "It is about noon; you should wake up."

Nico opened his eyes slowly and lifted himself into a sitting position, rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes with the back of his hands. However, he only felt a slight pain in his chest as he sat, a small smile of satisfaction appearing on his face in result. 

"Are you feeling better?" Hazel asked. 

"Yes, I am feeling much better, thank you," Nico grinned. "Perhaps I will be able to join you at the Devil's Port tonight." 

Hazel's face fell. "It is not a very friendly place. I would not be excited to arrive there, if I were you."

"Why not?" Nico inquired. "Does it smell?"

"Well, yes, that too," Hazel said. "But it is full of pirates and thieves and really shameful women that request to be paid to interact with men in a way that people only should do after marriage." 

"Oh." Nico's expression changed to a grimace. "Do not worry, I will not commence in...that, thank you very much." 

"Good," Hazel smiled. "Percy is not a fan of The Devil's Port, either, but there is where we get most of our supplies. There is fresh water there, and plenty of food. Also, we can hear who has been hanged recently or which crew held a mutiny to their captain, etcetera. It is our source of information on what goes on in the world. You must be part of the top gossip: the prince of Italy that suddenly disappeared."

"Unfortunately, that must be true," Nico sighed. "However, as a new member of your crew, I would like to accompany you. Captain says that I am skilled with a sword, I want to be able to use one." 

"Speaking of using a sword, come with me," Hazel told him, beckoning him to come with her. 

Nico obeyed, following her through the main deck and toward the captain. 

"Ah, your highness, you are able to move about," Percy grinned. "Are you in any pain? If ye be in pain, please go lie down, as I told you not to strain yourself."

"I am not in any pain, thank you, Captain," Nico responded. "And I prefer Nico to your highness, anyway."

"Nico?" Percy asked. "That is your name?"

"Yes, Captain," Nico nodded. "That's my name. Nico di Angelo."

"Well, I find meself flattered to be on a first-name-basis with the prince of Italy," the captain teased, offering his hand. "My name is Perseus Jackson, but my friends call me Percy or just Captain. Captain Jackson to the people who hate me." 

Nico laughed slightly, taking his hand and shaking it just as jokingly. "I am honored to be of your acquaintance, Captain." 

"Well, Nico, we need to give you something to wear for shoes, ye think?" Percy inquired. 

"Yes, I would rather not get an infection and die, thank you very much," Nico replied.

"Hazel, would you get him some shoes?" 

"Aye, Captain," Hazel nodded. "He may be in need of a sword, as well."

"Oh, yes, I apologize for forgetting your lack of weapon, although I compliment you often about your skill with one," Percy apologized. "I will let you select one from my quarters once Hazel fetches you a pair of shoes that I, ever so thoughtfully, received for you off of that Spanish ship we pillaged yesterday." 

"Thank you, Captain," Nico smiled. 

\- - - - -

"Which one would you prefer?" Percy asked the prince, gesturing to the row of short swords, broadswords, and cutlasses lying before him. 

Nico examined each one carefully, raveling his fingers around the handles and lifting them off of the table. He held them and swung them to get the feel of the blades. 

Finally, he held the final one, which he found the easiest to wield and it felt pleasant in his hand. He felt as if the sword had drawn him to it; even holding the sword felt right to the prince. 

It was beautiful, as well. The handle was an elegant black with many intricate designs carved into it. The blade was sharp and colored a sterling silver that shone brightly from the sunlight reflecting off of it. 

"This one," He decided, swinging the cutlass once more.

"Then it's yours," Percy told him. "That will be your weapon. Do not be afraid to use it, especially in the Devil's Port. Use it if you have to. However, do not start a fight with anyone there. They will not spare you because you are young. They will not hesitate to kill you."

"Noted," Nico responded, twirling the cutlass handle around in his hand. "I do not usually start fights, anyway." "Then why did you start one with me?" Percy asked with a familiar, cocky grin.

"Oh, I was the one who started that fight," Nico thought out loud. 

Percy nodded. "Yes, you were. You are lucky that you are talented. If you were not, I perhaps would not have spared your life." 

"Advice taken," Nico considered. "I suppose I had gotten a little carried away." 

"That would not be a good thing to do at the Devil's Port unless you have a yearning for death," Percy informed. 

\- - - - -

"Land ho!" Jason shouted from the crow's nest. "The Devil's Port is dead ahead!" 

"How far would you say it is from here, Jason?" Piper asked. 

"Not far," Jason answered. "I would estimate about a league and a half." 

"Come about, then!" Percy ordered. 

"Aye, Captain!" Annabeth obeyed, directing the ship into more wind so they would move toward the port faster. They pulled into the port just as the sun touched the horizon. 

The Devil's Port was not to be romanticized in any way. It simply wasn't beautiful. The only thing pleasant about it were the torches that lit the walkways. 

However, Hazel was not incorrect about the smell. The Devil's Port stank like rotten fish, sailor musk, alcohol, and vomit, all fermented in an old, sweaty boot for over a year, and that was nothing compared to how shoddy the people looked. 

The women wore dresses that hardly left anything to the imagination, not that Nico wanted to imagine what was under them. He directed his eyes in another direction as they passed. Nico's repulsion was not based upon that they were not pretty; Nico would say they were if they were more appropriately-dressed, but he still had not a liking for women. 

Percy led the crew into a tavern, settling down at a table before approaching the lackadaisical barkeeper and asking for seven glasses of water. The barkeeper rose a skeptical eyebrow before nodding and gathering seven glasses. He poured the liquid into the glasses and pushed them toward him. Percy placed two doubloons in front of him before inviting his crew over to pick up their glasses and take a drink. 

The water wasn't the purest Nico had had in his life, but it was refreshing, unlike the warm rum he had been drinking. Despite the rum being the only thing in the ship that was drinkable, it was in limited supply, and in result, they had to drink it with caution, leaving the crew with detestable dry mouths. 

As the crew satisfied their thirsts, Nico noticed groggy, drunken-looking men muttering and whispering to each other while eyeing their crew. Nico could easily predict that someone was going to start a fight with one of them, and it was not going to be pleasant. 

Nico was preparing himself to unsheathe his cutlass, in the high probability that the need to defend himself and his crew was imminent as he saw three rugged-in-appearance men approach the young pirates. 

As a precaution, the prince took note of where their weapons were located on their bodies. As far as he could see, the men appeared to have a dagger and two knives each, along with cutlasses strapped to their hips. One of them had a rolled up piece of tattered parchment in their pocket, an object which caused Nico to be racked with curiosity. He wanted to see what was on it, for it looked important. 

"So, ye are the crew of the Black Coral?" one of the men barked. 

"Aye, that would be us," Piper responded in a guarded tone. 

"Then which one of ye is Perseus Jackson?" 

Jason placed a protective hand upon the captain's shoulder. "What is your business with him?" 

"The bounty on him is high," one of the men told them with a impish chuckle. "We might want to take him with us."

Before the man knew it, he had a cutlass aimed at his throat. 

"I say that you will not," Nico threatened.

"Nico, please no," Leo told him.

"Let him," Piper whispered in the boy's ear. "We will see how right Percy was."

"The price he is at, I would say the bounty will be ours," the man replied to the boy who was aiming the blade at his throat, feeling the cold metal against his skin.

"Over my dead body," Nico growled. 

"That could be arranged," the man grinned. "We shall duel. If I win, we take him. If you win, we will leave you alone." 

"Nico, I don't think-"

"I accept your challenge," Nico agreed, ignoring his former servant.

The man drew the cutlass sheathed at his side, the dim light in the tavern glistening upon the newly exposed blade. Nico gripped his weapon more determinedly in his hand. Nico still admired the way the sword fit so perfectly in his hand, as if it were made for him to brandish. He spun the handle around in his hand before standing in a fighting stance, his crew watching with anticipation. Well, most of the crew. Leo couldn't bear to watch the prince get injured, so he hid the view with a hand covering his eyes. 

The man lunged toward the boy, his sword clutched tightly in his hand, the blade aimed at the prince's jugular. Nico dodged the potentially fatal blow with what seemed like ease, but was more of practice. The man, now understanding that Nico was more of an opponent than he originally thought, gritted his teeth as he kept thrusting his blade at the prince, who countered each attack with his own. 

The man, now frustrated at how difficult the prince was being, decided to up his game. He felt sweat drip down his forehead as he aimed for Nico's unprotected abdomen. Nico easily predicted his attack, blocking the lunge of the blade. Leo, now curious, watched the fight through slotted fingers.

While he was countering the blows and while keeping his opponent distracted, Nico crept his hand around and removed the rolled up parchment from the man's belt, placing it in his own. He hoped the man wouldn't realize as he kept protecting his body from any harm the man's weapon would cause. 

The man swung his cutlass at an angle which enabled the prince of Italy to trap the thin, cold metal of his cutlass in the handle of the man's weapon. With a confident smirk, Nico stole the cutlass out of his opponent's hand, leaving him weaponless with a blade to his throat.

Perspiration dripped off of the young prince's forehead as a triumphant grin found its way onto his face. 

"Now you have to leave us alone," he panted.

Before Nico knew it, he had a flintlock pistol aimed at his face.

"You think that we'll let you get away that easily?" one of the other men asked. "With a bounty of nine-hundred doubloons, there is no way to win."

"Unless you have an incredible captain with stunning good looks," said Percy in his familiarly overconfident tone as he unleashed Riptide from its sheath, positioning the golden blade at the man holding the gun, which was aimed at the dark-haired prince's face. "I believe we have reached an impasse."

"That's not exactly true, captain," Piper added, unsheathing her dagger from her side. "Seven to three is a pretty dismal ratio, don't you think?"

"Aye," Annabeth agreed, handling her own dagger. "Let him go, or else you will have to face the rest of us."

"I see," the man wielding the pistol decided, releasing the weapon from his grip for it to drop to the floor. "Can we settle a bargain that if we leave you alone, that this never occurred?"

"Agreed," Annabeth replied in a guarded tone, her grey eyes sending them a cold, vicious glare. 

They all walked away immediately after that, Nico sighing in relief and wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand as the crew sheathed their weapons.

"Nine hundred doubloons?" Nico asked the captain. "I thought you said your bounty was only three hundred!" 

"Well," Percy thought aloud. "I did do a lot of things after I last checked, but nothing that could get my bounty that high."

"Well, you must've," Piper interjected. "Or else those idiots wouldn't have tried to fight us to get to you. They would be rich if they had succeeded." 

"However, they did not," Leo added. "May we leave?" 

"Not quite yet," Hazel told the former servant as the crew exited the tavern to avoid any more bounty hunters. "We have one last place to go." 

"And where is that?" inquired Nico, who was tempted to hold his nose at the awful aroma that defiled his scent as they strolled down the rocky path of the Devil's Port. 

"A friend," Hazel answered. "He's a healer." 

Nico kept silent until they stopped in front of a hut-resembling building. Percy knocked on the wooden door a couple of times, looking over his shoulder so that he would see if anyone was preparing to attack him. The door swung open, and a tall blonde man stood there, his eyes widening once he saw the captain and the crew. Before Nico knew it, they were being rushed inside. 

The apothecary was a well-sized hut. There were several tables, all scattered around the room and they were all littered with herbs, medicine, alcohol, and bandages. The healer aggressively pulled Percy by his sleeve and began scolding him loudly, while Piper and Jason watched over the scene amusedly. 

"What were you thinking?!" the healer shouted. "Don't you know that you have a huge price on your head?" 

"I am now aware," Percy replied. "We got attacked by a few idiots in the tavern, then-" 

"Honestly, what have you done to triple your bounty in only a couple of weeks?" the healer went on, ignoring the captain. "I heard you kidnapped a prince." 

"Well, I more rescued-" 

"Are you mad?!" the healer yelled. "You can't just capture royalty!" 

"I didn't capture him," Percy corrected. "And I didn't know that the ship I pillaged, well, we pillaged had royalty on board. I recruited him to my crew." 

"Why the hell would you do something as stupid as that?" the healer asked exasperatedly. "Why did you do that?" 

"He said I was good with a sword," Nico interrupted. "It was my decision." 

"You're the prince?" the healer asked in surprise, before bowing temporarily. "Sorry your highness."

He then turned back to the captain. "You took him with you to the Devil's Port? You know what, I am not even surprised anymore. What the hell, Jackson?" 

"He wanted to go!" Percy defended. "By the way, I didn't come here just so that you could yell at me. We need some more medicine."

"And?" 

"Perhaps a little more rum?" Percy added. 

The healer sighed. "Fine, fine. You better pay me extra, you blasted idiot." 

"I take that as a compliment, do you not realize?" Percy joked. 

"I am sure you do," the healer replied with a sigh as he went to retrieve the supplies the crew requested. 

While the healer was gathering the supplies in his back room, Percy grinned over at the prince of Italy. 

"You did excellent back there," Percy complimented. "However, you're injured, and you still took him on. I do not know whether you are really, really brave, or really, really stupid. Despite the fact that you disobeyed me, you performed remarkably well, and I think with more training, you will be even better. Once your talent has been more developed, no one else will stand a chance against us!" 

"I am not sure whether you are scolding me or complimenting me," Nico commented candidly. 

"Trust me, I have never seen anyone fight like that," Percy reassured. "You will be fine. My only advice to you is that be careful if you are injured. Pride might be the death of you." 

"I was defending you!" 

"Still, he has a point," Hazel told the prince.

"I agree, Nico," Leo added. "I am not so sure where all of this starting fights began, but can you not initiate them as often? I do not want you to be more injured than you already are-" 

"I am fine," Nico argued. "I will try not to initiate sword fights, but if anyone tries to hurt any of you, I will not hesitate to fight. You are my crew now, and that is what crews do, is it not?"

"As long as you are fine, I am not against it," Percy told him as the healer came back with his arms full of medicine and bottles of rum. 

"Here you are," the healer said, placing the objects down on his table. "Thirty doubloons, Jackson." 

"Alright, alright," Percy replied, pulling his coin bag from his belt, counting out thirty doubloons and placing them on the counter in front of the healer, who counted them out for himself.

They had everything gathered in their hands as they made their way out of the apothecary and headed back onto their ship, avoiding any suspicious glances from anyone else. The seven climbed aboard the Black Coral and pulled in their anchor, setting sail to travel far, far away from the port.


	10. The Legend of Skull Cove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico finds that the map he had stolen from the drunken man was the map to a legendary treasure that could make the lot of them the richest pirates ever to sail the seas.

All of the crew were nestled into their barracks, fast asleep. However, Nico could not sleep, despite how hard he had tried. He was yet to find that one comfortable position to lie in, so he had been constantly changing his position in which he lied in. Piper snored loudly in her cot, which made sleeping even more difficult for the prince. 

He tossed and turned in his resting area, continuing to try and find the most comfortable position to lie in without falling onto the floor. 

The parchment he had stolen from the man suddenly reappeared in his thoughts. Was it even important? Nico had no clue. 

He was going to investigate it. He didn't have to worry about waking everyone up to go and look at it; if the prince knew anything, he knew that sailors were all heavy sleepers. 

He crept out of his barrack quietly; he knew he should not have been cautious about waking anyone up, but it was common knowledge that nothing was more angry than boys and girls his age being woken in the middle of the night or very early in the morning by someone else.

He pulled the parchment out of his belt and snuck up to the main deck so that he could try to decipher it in the silvery light the moon emitted.

The night breeze was as comforting as always; it only chilled his skin a little, but Nico convinced himself that he did not need a blanket or extra clothing. He was only trying to see what was written on the sheet of tattered parchment, which made crinkling noises in the slight breeze. He shivered slightly, directing the piece of paper into the light so the words and pictures were slightly eligible. 

"It is late, Little King," said a voice from behind him, which startled the prince. 

He jolted with a small noise of surprise.

"Oh, my apologies," Percy said apologetically. "I did not mean to startle you, Nico. Why are you awake so late? And what are you holding?" 

"I am not sure, honestly," Nico replied. "I found it in the Devil's Port, and I was curious to what it was. I had forgotten about it until a few moments ago, actually, so I am trying to see what it is." 

"Oh, alright," Percy told the prince. "If you find anything interesting on it, tell me about it." 

"Aye, captain." Nico changed the angle of the paper, squinting at the words and pictures, which were almost eligible enough to read, lit up by the pale moonlight. 

Nico squinted at the parchment in the dim lighting, questioning if trying too hard would ruin his eyesight. However, just as he was beginning to give up, Percy came behind him with a lit lantern, a golden light emanating from it. He held the thin wire handle and positioned it in an angle that the prince could finally see what adorned the tattered parchment he found. 

It looked like a map, with a compass rose in the bottom right-hand corner of the parchment. The words on it were in strange markings, ones that neither of the two boys could understand. However, what stood out most to Percy was a rock formation on the map that closely resembled a skull, surrounded by trees and a cove full of sunken ships that peaked out of the water. Under the formation in neat, cursive handwriting, read Skull Cove. A wide smile found its way onto the captain's face, happy laughter escaping from between his lips.

"What is Skull Cove?" asked Nico, looking at the captain in curiosity. "Is it important?"

"Important?" Percy's tone was lined with incredulity. "This is one of the most renowned lost fortunes in the world. The lost treasure of Skull Cove. Where in the Devil's Port did you get this?"

"At the tavern, while I was fighting that man," Nico replied. "I saw it in his pocket, and I was curious of what was on it." 

"Those men were bigger idiots than I thought, bringing something of this much value to the Devil's Port," Percy laughed. "Did you fight him as an excuse to get your hands on it?"

Nico nodded. "Yes, it was one of the reasons I accepted his challenge. However, I wanted to protect you, as well." 

"I'm a pirate, I do not need to be protected, thank you very much, but I am glad you did that. You must be a lucky charm, your highness," Percy praised.

Nico blushed. "Well..."

"All of that aside, I cannot read these markings," said the captain. "Might you know what dialect this is written in?" 

"I have not a clue," Nico responded, disappointedly. "It looks slightly like the writing of Ancient Greece." 

"Does it?" asked Percy. "Have you done much research on it?"

"A small amount," Nico answered. "We might have to consult someone about this."

"Consulting anyone about a map of this value would end with all of us dead and someone else getting their own filthy hands on the fortune," Percy dismissed. "Despite that fact, Annabeth might be able to read it."

"Annabeth?" Nico inquired. 

"She is our navigator and linguist," Percy explained. "Would you mind going down to the barracks and receiving her for me?" 

"Are you sure that she will not murder me for waking her?" Nico asked. 

Percy chuckled. "Piper killing you is what you would have to worry about, if you were ever to wake her. Annabeth would understand. This is not only important, this is life changing. Nearly every pirate dreams of a treasure this large!" 

"Aye, Captain," said Nico hesitantly. 

He turned away and he headed to the quarters, tiptoeing stealthily down the stairs to wake the blonde-haired girl without waking the siren. He reluctantly placed a hand upon the sleeping girl's shoulder, shaking her slightly. 

"Annabeth," he whispered. 

She groaned and turned onto her side. 

He huffed in exasperation, shaking her shoulder more intensely. 

"Annabeth," he repeated quietly. 

"What do you want, your highness?" she asked in an exhausted tone.

"I prefer Nico, for one," Nico told her. "And second, we found a map in a language Captain and I were not able to comprehend and we were hoping you could understand it?"

"I suppose so," Annabeth replied, getting out of her cot. "It must be important if you are waking me at this ungodly hour. How exactly did he phrase it?"

"He said it was 'life-changing'," Nico answered. 

"I will be up there right away." Annabeth's attention suddenly became intact as she, wide-awake, slipped on her shoes and sword and ran with Nico up to the main deck, surprisingly not waking a soul from their deep slumber. 

"Captain!" Annabeth shouted. "You called for me?"

"Aye," Percy grinned, excitedly, waving the rolled up map triumphantly in the air.

"What is the map for?" asked Annabeth, taking the tattered parchment from the captain.

She unrolled the golden parchment, holding the tattered sides in her hands as Percy held the lantern. She squinted at the letters, attempting to decipher the map.

"This isn't a language," Annabeth concluded after looking confusedly at the map for a good five minutes. "They very might as well be just markings."

"Or runes," a small, quiet voice said. 

Startled, the three pirates turned around to look at Hazel, her curly hair unruly and her feet bare. 

"Oh, Hazel, we did not expect you to be awake," Percy told her. "And what do you mean by 'runes'?"

"Runes," Hazel repeated. "Ancient, dead languages only used by ones who preform hoodoo or other types of dark magic." 

"How do you know this?" Annabeth questioned.

"I am from Africa, and I know someone in my home country," Hazel replied, coldness seeping into her usually warm eyes. "She might be able to help us."

"Might you know where she is?" Nico asked her.

"It's been years, but I certainly remember," she stated. "I am able to take you there, I have coordinates." 

"We shall set sail for your home country as soon as possible," Percy ordered. "Hazel, give the coordinates to Annabeth and she will navigate us there. This might be one of our only chances at getting the fortune before anyone else does." 

Hazel nodded and went to the Captain's Quarters to write the coordinates for the navigator.

"And, Nico..."

"Hmm?" 

"Do not worry yourself too much, you hear?" 

Nico nodded. "Aye, sir." 

Percy smiled at Nico before tucking a long strand of Nico's midnight-colored hair, probably misplaced by the night breeze, behind his ear. A feeling he could not describe blossomed in his chest. It clenched, making his chest feel tight, yet his stomach jittery. He hoped it was too dark to see the blush that had risen into his cheeks.

"Get some sleep," the captain said so softly, it was nearly a whisper. 

Nico nodded and returned back into the barracks, thoughts of Captain Perseus Jackson lingering in his mind. He tried to ignore his attractiveness and tried to think about whom they were visiting. Africa is the  birthplace of all sorts of dark magic and cults, was it not? Was the person they were visiting a sorceress? A witch doctor? Nico felt dread in the pit of his stomach. Wherever they were going, Nico did not trust it at all. 

However, the look on Percy's face when he read the map definitely meant something. He knew Percy was not a foolish man, and he would take the pirate's word for it. After all, he did save the prince from a watery demise. Not once, but twice. Nico would agree that anyone who would risk their life to save someone else had a good heart, even if they did not show it. Perseus Jackson was an enigma that had definitely caught the prince's attention.


	11. A Witch Doctor’s Morals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew heads for a witch doctor to interpret the strange runes written on the map.

Sailing through the smooth waters of the ocean was calming, in Nico's opinion. He loved feeling the salty breeze against his skin, the pure smell of the ocean lingering. In absolutely no way did he miss home. It smelled foul and there was not enough hours of the day to do everything he wanted. If he snuck out at night, he would surely be caught and punished. 

Nico leaned against the railings on the bow of the ship, feeling the breeze rustle through his hair and caress his face lightly. It was a perfect day. 

"Nico," Percy called to him softly. 

Nico turned around, a content smile on his face. "Yes, Captain?"

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, sir." 

"Do you mind if I join you?" asked the captain. 

"No," Nico replied, looking back at the shimmering waters.

Percy stood next to him, imitating Nico's position and leaning against the railings. 

"It is beautiful, is it not?" Nico asked the captain. 

"The ocean?" 

Nico nodded. 

"Yes, it is very beautiful," he answered, his gaze directed back at the prince. "Are you alright?" 

"I have hardly been better," Nico smiled, not taking his eyes off of the sea. "Why do you ask?" 

"No reason," Percy told him. "Although, I have hardly paid attention to the ocean, and now that you mention its beauty, I am now noticing it as I once did as a child."

"Well, being a child is so simple," Nico responded. "No one's expectations are high, and you are free to do as you please for the time being."

"I agree, being a child is so much easier." Percy looked from the ocean and back to the prince, whose inky hair was slightly rustled by the everyday afternoon zephyr, but on him it looked stunning.

"However, we are at sea, and we have no expectations now," Nico smiled, looking over at Percy, who looked away quickly to avoid being caught staring. "I have begun to enjoy being a pirate."

"There are many drawbacks to being a pirate," Percy spoke. "But the perks are worth it, in the end. You are free from society's strangling hands and are free on open waters, pillaging other's ships and searching for riches. When you die of disease, dehydration, starvation, or find your neck in a noose, hanging over the harbor, you know everything was worth it." 

"Society's strangling hands?" Nico repeated.

"If you know me well, you would know that I get along with mostly anyone, but I do not like being around large groups of people often," Percy answered. "I do not like people forcing things upon me, nor expecting me to conform with everyone else." 

"I understand," Nico told him, causing Percy to raise an eyebrow at him. "However, how are you sure that everything is worth it once you die?" 

"Well, life is what life is," Percy grinned, his sea green orbs glistening with mischief. "It must be lived to its fullest. Not all treasure is silver and gold."

Percy winked at him, and Nico could feel heat rush into his face.

"Ay, you two," Jason called, causing the two boys to turn around and face the first mate. "Captain, Hazel says we are almost there."

"Almost where?" Nico asked.

"As if I know," Jason shrugged, taking a swig from his flask. "I only know that apparently she lives in a swamp, so we will have to take the longboats."

"Prepare them, then," Percy ordered.

"Aye, sir." Jason nodded, walking away to prepare the boats.

"Well, we should help," Percy told him, straightening his posture and walking off to join his first mate. 

"Yes, Captain," Nico obeyed, following him onto the main deck. 

\- - - - -

Piper, Annabeth, Jason, and Percy paddled the longboat through the murky water, maneuvering through the swamp. 

"Hazel, are you sure she lives here?" Piper asked, grunting as she continued to paddle. 

"I am absolutely sure," Hazel told her. 

"Do you want me to take over, Piper?" Nico offered her.

"It is fine," Piper answered. "It should not be too much farther away." 

"Are you sure?" Nico asked. "I would be glad to take an oar." 

"We are fine, Nico," Percy told him. "We have done this many times."

"Alright," Nico replied to the captain hesitantly. "If you say so."

It was silent for a while longer, bar the sounds of the boat traveling through the water, crickets chirping, frogs croaking, and the occasional grunt from one of the members of the crew that was paddling the longboat.

"How much farther away?" complained Piper.

"Stop here," Hazel said. 

At her words, the crew released their oars and stretched their arms.

"Nico, you can paddle on the way back, if you would like," Piper told him as she cracked her neck.

"If you would like me to," was Nico's response.

Hazel began to walk through the trees, the crew following closely behind her. 

"Now we have to walk," Piper complained. "Spectacular."

"Shh," hushed Hazel, who pushed open vines to reveal an old hut, erected from wood and constructed into an odd shape. Vines had grown around and upon it, giving it an abandoned look to it. However, there was one problem.

"Why is it sitting in the middle of the marsh?" asked Piper.

There were no visible walkways to it, only a body of murky water, which glowed a light green from the moonlight shining down upon it. It resembled a flat, mossy gem. Nico saw a bit of smoke trailing from the chimney. 

"Well, it is not abandoned," Percy voiced Nico's thoughts. "But how do we get in?"

"We were not necessarily invited," said Annabeth. "What if she sacrifices us to whatever deity she worships?"

"Since when did a pirate need an invitation?" asked Jason. "Should we just trudge through the marsh?"

"And lose my shoes in the mud?" Piper retorted. "No, thank you. You could walk barefoot if you would like, Jason."

"Stop bickering," Hazel told the two. She then began to search the tree adjacent to her. "I need to concentrate."

"Are you looking for a secret passage?" asked Piper teasingly.

"Found it," Hazel grinned, flicking a small branch on the tree. 

Suddenly, a trail to the hut emerged from the swamp. Hazel smiled smugly at Piper and began to approach the hut. 

"Impressive, young one," Piper told her.

The crew followed their youngest member across the path to the peculiar-looking hut. Hazel opened the door without knocking, as if she lived there. The crew followed suit, Leo shutting the door behind him, as he was the last one inside. 

The inside of the hut was an interesting sight. There were odd feathered masks, skulls, brightly colored fabrics draping over tables, chairs, candles everywhere, and strange books marked with strange runes Nico had never seen before littered every piece of furniture that was visible. 

"Hello, Hazel," said a crackly voice. "I see you have returned." 

Hazel's warm golden eyes turned cold and stern. "Hello, Mother. I have returned, indeed."

"And whom have you brought along with you?" she asked, golden bangles jingling on her wrist and numerous bead necklaces clacking together. "Several nice specimens."

"Mother, they are my friends, not sacrifices," Hazel spoke harshly. 

"I know, dear," Hazel's mother said disappointedly. "And what a shame, too. They are such beautiful creatures."

She traced Nico's jaw with a long fingernail. "Such a lovely young man. You would have made such a good king."

Nico's eyes widened. "H-how did you—"

"It is what I do, your highness," she grinned, showing a mouthful of rotten teeth.

Percy put an arm around Nico to protect him from the witch. "We have come for important business, m'lady."

"I know, Captain Perseus Jackson," she spoke softly, nearly a whisper. "You have come to me to interpret those runes on that map."

"It is authentic, right?" he asked.

"Of course it is, dear," she smiled toothily, which disgusted the prince. "That man was an absolute idiot for bringing something of worth to The Devil's Port, am I correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Percy nodded. 

"You have become a lovely young man," Hazel's mother complimented. "How is your mother doing?"

"I-I am not sure, I have not spoken to her since I left," Percy spoke uncomfortably. 

"Such a pity," she commented, seating herself in a chair at a table, which was covered in books and candle wax. "However, as you know about a witch doctor's morals, they do not have any. I request a bargain for my services." 

"What do you want?" Percy asked, reaching for his doubloon pouch on his belt. 

"I do not wish for any money," the witch refused. "There is something... much different that I desire." 

"What is that?" inquired the captain curiously. 

She pointed a thin, wrinkled finger with a excessively long, yellow fingernail at the prince. 

"I want him."

Percy's arm tightened around Nico possessively. "He is not up for bargain."

The witch's eyes glistened with satisfaction and mischief, a combination that made the prince feel anxious. 

"Fine, fine," the witch cackled. "Young love is more powerful than any magic."

"Oh, no, we are not in love-" Nico squeaked in embarrassment. 

"For now," the witch spoke under her breath. "If I cannot have the prince, I ask for my daughter."

"She is not-"

"I accept," Hazel interrupted. 

"No, Hazel-" the captain began. 

"You have given me so many things that I needed," Hazel told him sweetly. "It is my time to repay that debt." 

"You do not owe me anything, Hazel," Percy told her. 

"This is bigger than me," Hazel told him. She turned back to her mother. "I will go with you as long as you hold up your end of the deal." 

"Of course, my precious daughter," her mother grinned once more, then outstretched her thin, dirty hand. "Hand me the map." 

Nico reluctantly pulled the map from his belt and handed it to the witch. She unrolled the yellowed parchment in her filthy hands and flattened it upon the table. 

"Let's see here," she whispered loudly. 

She dipped a bright blue, red, and yellow quill in red ink- God, Nico hoped that was red ink- and began to write underneath the runes a language they could understand. After she was done, she blew on the ink and waited for it to dry before rolling the map back up and handing it back to the prince. 

"Thank you very much for the barter," she smiled her sickening smile once more. "I hope I see you again." 

Nico looked sadly at Hazel, who gave him a reassuring nod, before leaving with the rest of the crew. 

"Such a sweet girl," Percy muttered to himself, but Nico heard his mutterings. 

Nico laid a comforting hand on Percy's shoulder. He smiled at the prince before leading them down the path, which disappeared behind them once they got back onto the marshy land, and leading them through the trees and to their longboat. 

Nico positioned himself at the oar Piper had rowed. 

"I did not like that," Nico commented.

"Me neither," Percy agreed. "She was picking through my head. How did she know about my mother?"

"I do not have the slightest idea," Annabeth told him.

"She knew I was the prince, too," Nico added. "She frightened me."

"She frightened all of us," Piper told them.

"That is for sure," Leo agreed.

The rest of the way back to the Black Coral was silent. Percy was hardly able to sleep that night, despite his comfortable bed. No one, not even his crew, knew about his mother. He was trying to leave that in the past. However, the past always came back to haunt him. Nico thought the same as he struggled to sleep in his cot. It was a long night for all of them. The captain and the prince were just glad it was over.


	12. Tales of Two Runaways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mourning the loss of Hazel, and feeling guilty upon the mention of his mother, Percy tells Nico about his life and what it truly means to be a pirate.

Percy could not sleep. He had been tossing and turning, wide awake half the night despite his exhaustion. It had been a long day for everyone. They had lost Hazel, to boot. Now Percy's crew was down one person, and lacking the kindness and purity she possessed. 

However, the person who Percy was worrying about was his mother. How was she doing? How was she coping with her husband and the awful things he did to her? Was she even alive? Percy shivered at the thought. 

He was such a coward, he thought. He had to run away, abandoning her with that monster, while she had done all she could do for him. She even found him a nice girl who she wanted him to marry, but he only thought of them as friends. 

He wondered what would happen if he stayed, as well. He would not be wanted for nearly a thousand pieces of gold, and his mother would have eventually had enough and drowned Gabe in a river, or in a similar body of water. Maybe she would frame him for a crime and have him executed. He had no idea of what could be if he had not run away. 

He tried to write a letter to her, multiple actually, but he ended up feeling so guilty about leaving that he crumpled up the parchment into a little ball, throwing it over his shoulder, which most of the time found its way under his bed, which could be indicated by the large amount of old balls of parchment that had accumulated under the regal bed. 

Percy tried to fall asleep once more, rolling onto his other side under the soft, warm blankets. He tried and failed. His mind kept drifting off somewhere, that was not sleep, might he add, which only doubled, if not tripled his anxiety. 

He eventually gave up and sat up in his bed, sliding his feet into his shoes with the Crow's Nest in mind. Perhaps the cool night air could clear his head and put him at ease. 

He walked out of his quarters, closing the door quietly behind him out of habit, before seeing a familiar mop of inky hair approaching the ladder to Percy's ideal destination. 

"Can Nico not sleep, either?" Percy thought, subconsciously following the sleepless prince as he climbed up to the Crow's Nest. 

As he reached the top, he saw the younger boy leaning against the railing, the wind blowing though his dark hair. He looked lost in thought. Percy deduced that he was upset because they had to leave Hazel behind. 

"Nico, are you alright?" inquired the captain. 

Nico looked behind him, seeing Percy lift himself to his feet. 

"I suppose so," he answered. "I am alive and mostly uninjured; I would assume so." 

"Nico," Percy looked at him with a sarcastic look. "Can you not sleep?"

"I cannot believe Hazel would give herself for some gold," Nico sighed. "I understand that we are pirates, but she was so sweet. I wish she understood how important she was to your- I mean, our crew."

"I know," Percy agreed. "She felt like she owed me, and there is nothing I can do once she gets her mind set on something. She's stubborn, I'll tell you that."

A small smile formed on Nico's lips, the wind whipping through his tousled, inky mane. His pale olive skin was illuminated by the moonlight, making it look a light porcelain. He looked...beautiful.

"So, Captain," Nico spoke, bringing Percy from his thoughts. "What brings you up here this late?"

"I believe the same reason you have," Percy responded. "I could not sleep. My thoughts wouldn't let me."

"Was it about Hazel?" asked the prince.

"No, not exactly," Percy sighed, scratching the back of his head. "The old witch brought up my mother. I do not know how she knew about her; I haven't told anyone. I know she did not bring it up for small talk. She knew about her somehow."

"Well, I do not have the slightest idea how she would know either, especially since you have never seen her before," Nico replied. "Who is your mother?"

Percy winced, as it was a sore subject for him to even think about her, let alone discuss the issue.

"My apologies," Nico revised. "You do not have to tell me if—" 

"No, it is fine, I should be able to talk about her by now," Percy interrupted. "I suppose it's about time that I've told someone." 

Nico nodded, a silent encouragement to urge Percy forward with his tale.

"Ever since I was a young boy, my mother had always taken outstanding care of me, her only son," the captain began. "I never knew my father. He was always a faceless figure of my childhood. My mother told me he voyaged on the sea, but he never returned. My mother was heartbroken, and I was a constant reminder of him; she always told me I had a striking resemblance to my father. Despite the fact I brought her sorrow, she loved me, and she always tried to do what was best for me.

"We were homeless. Wales was not a place for my mother to flourish, especially in the area we roved around in. However, my mother always looked at me with a smile and told me it would get better someday. Afterwards, she met Gabriel, or he went by Gabe. He is a rich man who had taken interest in Mother, but not me. He still gave me food, though, as my mother worked for him. I was not yet old enough, as I was only around six years of age. A couple of years later, they had gotten married. It all descended from there." 

"What happened?" Nico inquired. 

"He beat her," Percy said with much distaste. "He beat me, too. So much that I wasn't able to attend school sometimes. No one else noticed, nor did they care. I was only a boy who needed to learn his lesson for being alive. I wished I was dead many times. I got older and tried to get a job to support my mother and I, the main reason being that we could leave that old scumbag behind. It became less frequent that he beat me and my mother, and I began to think that he became a better man. We visited the apothecary less, my mother found me a girl to marry, although I thought of her as more of a friend than lover." 

"What was her name?" asked Nico. 

"Rachel," Percy told him. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She liked me at first, but after a while, she thought of me as just a friend." 

"Ah," Nico spoke distantly.

"Then, after a while," Percy continued. "He began beating us more and more. I lost my job for lack of attendance, since I physically was unable to. He dislocated my shoulder. We went under again. I could not handle it anymore, so I ran away."

Nico's eyes widened. "You ran away?"

"Aye," Percy nodded. "I know, I'm a coward. I don't even know if my mother is alive. I regret what I did every single day, but I can't go back. I can't face her after what I did."

"Well, for your information, I practically ran away as well," said Nico. "Besides, I never thanked you for saving my life and rescuing me from my future." 

"Marrying a princess?" Percy asked. "I feel that there is more than just marriage why you do not want to return to Italy." 

"It is," Nico told him. "It is not only my arranged marriage that I wish to never return there." 

"Is Italy that bad?" joked Percy. 

Nico cast him a playful glare. "Surely, it smells, but it is not too bad."

"Then why, my Prince, do you not wish to return?" Percy laughed.

"I do not wish to rule," confessed Nico. "I want to venture the world, see things no one has before. I am desperate for adventure. I want to live my life to the fullest, write my own story, not live a life that was already written for me." 

"Why haven't you run away sooner?" queried Percy.    

"The only reason that kept me there was guilt," Nico told him. "Surely there are men in Italy more qualified to rule it than I am, but my father always kept me there, threatening me that I would never amount to anything rather than ruling the country, that I would fail as an explorer. However, now I realize that even if I fail as an explorer, I could make a pretty good pirate, as you tell me." 

"You make an excellent pirate," Percy told him. 

"As I have heard," smiled Nico, his glance shifting to the ocean, which, given by the calmness of the night and illuminated by the moonlight, looked like a slate of shiny, dark blue glass.

"Thank you," was muttered from Percy's lips before he could stop himself.

"For what?" asked Nico, looking back to the captain. 

"For listening," the captain replied. 

"I am actually honored that you told only me this," Nico spoke. "You know the rest of your crew much better than—"

"Well, you are part of my crew now," Percy told him. "I trust you, and I hope you trust me."

"Of course I do," said Nico. "You saved me." 

"From eventual marriage, no less," chuckled Percy. "Anyway, why did you not want to marry her?" 

Nico blushed, thinking of the actual reason why he did not wish to marry Reyna. 

"Well, I had never met her," Nico told him. It was not necessarily a lie; he only did not give the full truth in fear of being thrown overboard. "I would be marrying a complete stranger." 

"Ah," Percy nodded. 

"Additionally, I believe marriage is about love," Nico continued. "I desire particular characteristics, and I am certain she does not possess any of them." 

"And what are those particular characteristics?" Percy grinned.

"First of all, I want them to be...charming and selfless," Nico began. "Ideally, someone good-humored; someone who would be willing to risk anything for me."

"Well, you seem to have things well-thought-out," laughed Percy. 

"Don't laugh," Nico grumbled, embarrassed. "I am being serious about this."

"Sorry, I could not simply resist," Percy apologized, his grin not fading. 

Nico shook his head vacantly, his gaze drifting down upon the moonlit sea, which was glimmering brilliantly below as the Black Coral sifted through the mysterious waters. Nico felt a light breeze begin to rustle through his midnight hair, disturbing the seemingly soft tufts of his unruly mane. 

The late night zephyr blew the scent of the ocean toward him. The adoration he felt for the salty air of the sea simply could not be put into words, for he never wanted to leave it behind, nor would he ever tire of it. 

Percy observed Nico's actions, a deep fondness embedding itself into his stomach. Nico looked beautiful, his hair being tousled by the breeze, the moonlight shining upon his fair skin, and his eyes sparkling with wonder and desire. The words escaped from his lips before he could stop them. 

"Nico, you are stunning."

Nico was shocked by the young captain's words as he turned to face him. Percy was equally surprised by his words, but he wished to see how the prince reacted to them. He was sure that the traits Nico had described seemed nothing like him; however, he felt something for Nico that he hadn't felt for a long time. Perhaps he never had felt it, since the feeling glowed stronger, burned deeper than the original feeling he previously had for his mother. 

Nico stared, awestruck by the choice of words. 

"I apologize," Percy began, attempting to save the last of his dignity and pride. After all, he was afraid of rejection more than death. Perhaps not suffocation, but the fear was a strong one. "I should not have—" 

The captain of the Black Coral was interrupted abruptly by a pair of lips pressing against his own. It was only a mere peck, but it held volumes. 

"N-Nico..." Percy's eyes widened once the young prince drew back from the kiss, rubbing his lips together.

"I-I-I am sorry," Nico apologized, burying his face in his hands. "I only got a little carried away. Please do not kill me or throw me off the ship."

"What are you speaking of?" asked Percy, confused. 

"Men kissing men is not right where I—"

"Nico, look down," Percy told him. Nico obeyed. "What do you see?"

"The ocean," Nico replied.

"Exactly," said Percy. "Do society's rules matter here?"

"Well—"

"No, they do not apply here," Percy informed. "Out here, we are free. We can drink as we please, dance as we please, steal, murder, anything we wish to accomplish, we can. We can live as we please. How does one liking one of the same gender matter?"

"It does not."

"Precisely."

"You are not mad?" queried Nico.

Percy shook his head. "Of course not." 

"But...I kissed you," Nico whispered.

"What of it?" Percy inquired, matching Nico's tone. "I liked it."

Nico's eyes enlarged dramatically. "Y-you did?"

"Aye," Percy grinned smugly. "In fact, I would not mind if we did it again."

With that, Percy cupped the prince's face in his hands and pressed his lips against the younger boy's, except, this time, much harder and for longer. Nico's eyes fluttered shut as he felt Percy's lips move gently against his own, his hands resting on Percy's shoulders as he tried to hide his inexperience. 

To Nico, Percy tasted of salt and the slight bitterness of rum, Nico assuming it to be fragments of the rum he had with dinner. His body was warm against his own, in contrast with the chilly, late night air. Percy's callused thumb caressed Nico's cheekbone as the kiss deepened slightly. Nico's grip on Percy's shoulders tightened as he got more used to Percy's kissing technique and began to cooperate more. 

Like all good, wonderful things, it came to an end when Percy pulled back, breathless from the kiss. When he regained his composure, Percy flashed Nico a grin. Nico's cheeks, which were already flushed from the cold, gained more color. Nico felt the heat in his cheeks rising and hoped Percy did not notice. 

Percy chuckled at the glowing-red prince of Italy, whose grip did not release on his shoulders. Percy swept a stray piece of inky hair behind Nico's ear with a fond, genuine smile.

Nico was taken aback by the gentleness displayed by the pirate, despite having seen a glimpse of it before. Nico saw the smile go directly to his sea-green eyes, which had and was continuing to awe the prince of Italy. How a pair of eyes could contain so much emotion and depth was a mystery he would never be able to solve. 

"Captain," shouted another voice from the main deck, pulling the two boys out of their trance and back into reality.

Percy looked over the edge of the Crow's Nest, down below at the blonde-haired girl who addressed him.

"What is it, Annabeth?" he asked exasperatedly, but it sounded more of a demand.

"We are being attacked," she informed him. "Enemy pirate ship off the port side!"


	13. The Princess Andromeda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An enemy from Percy’s past encounters the Black Coral, wanting to claim his life once and for all.

"Get all hands on deck for further instruction!" Percy ordered once he had climbed down from the Crow's Nest. 

"Aye, Captain," Annabeth obeyed, Nico following her down to the barracks to wake everyone and to prepare for battle. 

"All hands on deck!" Annabeth shouted to the rest of the sleeping crew, who woke with a start at the sudden yelling.

"What's going on?" Piper asked groggily as she stumbled out of bed.

"We are being attacked, Piper," she told her. "An enemy pirate ship was spotted."

"Of course," grumbled Jason as he grabbed his sword and sheathed it in his belt. "When I take a break to sleep, they attack. I see how it is." 

"Come now, we must have all hands prepared for battle."

"We may have a slight disadvantage now that we lost one," Piper muttered as she climbed the stairs to the main deck. 

Once all of the crew was standing upon deck, weapons ready, the ship had neared remarkably.

"What ship is it, Percy?" Nico asked, secretly exhilarated. 

"The Princess Andromeda," answered the captain. "They are some friends I had a while back."

"Friends?" Nico thought. "Well that cannot be good."

"Piper, if it gets dangerous, you know what to do," Jason whispered to her. 

"So how dangerous do you think this will be?" Leo laughed nervously. 

"I dunno," Piper grinned. "We might all die." 

A noticeable shiver coursed through the former servant. "Ah, lovely." 

"Prepare to fight any moment now," Percy warned. 

"How do you know he is not going to strike with the cannons first?" asked Annabeth, not taking her steel grey eyes off of the approaching threat. 

"I know his battle strategies," Percy told her. "He is very stubborn about changing them, too. If I know anything, he distracts the enemy crew with fighting with swords, then he has several others man the cannons and sink the ship." 

"Spectacular," Annabeth sighed. 

Eventually, the pirates from the Princess Andromeda invaded the ship, followed by their captain, Luke Castellan. 

"Ah, _Captain Perseus Jackson_ ," Luke greeted mockingly as he boarded the ship, approaching the captain with long, intimidating strides. "Long time no see, hmm?"

"Aye, it has been a while, Luke," Percy grinned.

"I see you left your old ship for this one." Luke observed his surroundings. "What a pity. This one is a nice one. A little smaller than the one you stole from us and stranded us in the Devil's Port with."

Percy chuckled. "Aye, and I see you got from there unscathed."

Luke cast him a dark look. "It may appear so. However you know quite well that no one comes from Devil's Port unscathed." 

Percy's lips were pulled into a sinister smirk. "Well, you are alive, and you got a new ship. It looks nice."

"You are alive as well, Percy," Luke's voice deepened intimidatingly. "But, I'm sorry to say, not for long."

Percy grinned. "Try me." 

Before Nico could see anything, Luke pulled a cutlass from his sheath, aiming it at Percy. Nico drew his cutlass as well, before Jason held him back. "No, this is his fight." 

Nico backed off, but did not put away his weapon. 

Percy pulled Riptide with a confident grin. Nico knew that grin well. It was saying that Percy acknowledged he could lose, and it was a terrifying thing. 

As quick as a flash of lightning, the two blades collided with a clash. Percy countered Luke's blows and dodged the ones he could not, searching for an opening. While the two were fighting, the others who had recently boarded the ship began to attack the crew of the Black Coral, transforming the ship into a sea of sharp, clashing blades. 

Nico had managed to gravely wound several, as Jason and Leo disappeared below to fire the cannons at the attacking enemy ship. Annabeth and Nico stayed on the main deck, taking anyone who dared to challenge them. Luke's crew was a talented bunch, but nothing compared to the genius of the combat experts combined. 

No one noticed the disappearance of Piper, who vanished from the scene mysteriously; the rest of the crew were too caught up in combat and warfare. 

The siren dodged a cannon that barreled its way into the calm, smooth waves of the cold ocean, scaring away a school of fish. She clicked her tongue and continued toward the enemy ship, which was now shooting back at the Black Coral. Piper figured that Leo and Jason must have been firing at them, since the other two members of the crew were keeping the enemies busy. 

Piper smirked; battle strategies were not exactly her cup of tea, but she knew exactly what she could do to aid her crew. 

Nico slashed through another pirate's shirt, leaving a scratch on his abdomen that was already seeping blood. That only angered him more, and it was apparent by the pirate lunging at Nico, only to get impaled by the prince's blade. Warm liquid gushed out of the wound, splattering Nico and coating his cutlass in red. The now lifeless man fell to the deck. Nico felt horrified, but he continued on, for the sake of his life and everyone else's. 

It became silent as Luke's blade knocked Riptide out of Percy's hand. It fell over the ship and into the ocean with a splash. Percy's face paled remarkably as Luke laughed, holding his own blade to Percy's jugular. With a single swipe, he could end Percy's life. 

"Not today," Percy thought as he felt a cutlass of a fallen pirate at his feet. 

"Now you will die, Perseus Jackson," growled the captain of the Princess Andromeda, pressing lightly into the skin of his opponent's neck. 

"Captain!" yelled Nico. 

Percy merely grinned as he slid his foot under the handle and kicked up, the sword flying into the air. The captain of the Black Coral grabbed the cutlass by the handle and countered Luke's sword, the tides immediately changing as Percy kicked his opponent in the stomach and elbowed him in the chest. It all happened so fast that Luke could not comprehend what happened. Before he knew it, he was punched in the face and he fell to the ground, with a cutlass blade at his throat. 

"Who is the one who is going to die?" asked Percy mockingly, kicking away Luke's sword. 

Luke glared at Percy, knowing that he had been defeated. However, someone tried lunging at Percy with intentions to kill. 

"Captain, watch out," Nico cried as he thrust his cutlass at his highest velocity. The crimson-stained blade impaled the enemy, blood flying out of the wound that caused almost instantaneous death. 

Percy put away his blade, instead lifting his opponent to his feet by the cloth of shirt. The captain of the Black Coral grinned victoriously, grabbing his flintlock pistol out of its holster, and aiming it against Luke's chest. Luke heard him cock the gun, and was waiting patiently, but was terrified to hear him pull the trigger. 

In the distance, the crew of the Black Coral could see the Princess Andromeda submerging slowly, as if there were many leaks that were bringing it under. And there were. Piper climbed aboard the Black Coral with a satisfied and proud grin on her face, whipping her wet, choppy, beaded hair to shake some of the water out.

"You see, sirens are very effective in battle," Piper boasted. "As we can breathe underwater, swim swiftly, and poke itty bitty holes in the bottom of the ship. Nothing noticeable, but extremely effective. I would apologize for sinking your ship, but I am really not sorry." 

Annabeth pulled her flintlock pistol out of her belt and aimed it at the two survivors of the enemy crew. 

"There is one rule of the ocean," the blonde cocked her gun. "And that is never mess with the crew of the Black Coral if you want to get out alive."

Luke was shot and thrown overboard without mercy, while the remaining two surrendered. One Percy knew; he was a kind fellow by the name of Frank Zhang, and he was an absolute pleasure to be around. However, he was extremely clumsy, and he had gained notoriety over that fact. The other was a blonde faun girl named Bramble Oakhoof, who had fainted after Annabeth aimed her gun at her. 

Frank carried her below deck before returning to negotiate with Percy. 

"Frank, it is nice to see you again," Percy shook his hand. "I apologize for leaving you at the Devil's Port. I was going to bring you along, but you disappeared off somewhere, and I couldn't find you before I left the port."

"It's fine, although I got scarred for life, no thanks to you," Frank frowned. "I trusted you, and you left us all behind. However, I understand your circumstances; Luke was probably going to kill you anyways." 

"I may be a pirate, but I still have morals, believe it or not," grinned Percy slyly as he playfully punched Frank in the shoulder. "Luke, however, did not. He was too reckless in battle. I did not agree with him at all. It's a pity, though. I lost my favorite sword while we were fighting."

"Riptide, I take it," Frank assumed. 

"Aye," Percy pouted. "However, all of that aside, we lost someone very dear to us recently, and we have a spot open for another member, or several—"

"I will think about it," Frank interrupted with distaste. "You know piracy is not much to my liking." 

Percy nodded understandingly. The only reason he did it was so he could be free, but freedom always comes with a price.

"I'm going to check on Bram," Frank told the captain before disappearing below deck.

Percy was upset, and he did not know why. He should have been happy; he kissed Nico, twice, and he defeated an enemy. However, Hazel traded herself for money, and that witch doctor had brought up his mother. He knew it was in the past, but it was something worth dwelling on. 

"Percy," Nico called, bringing Percy from his thoughts.

"Hmm?" was Percy's response.

"Let's sleep," Nico told him, lying a reassuring hand upon the captain's shoulder.

"I do not think I am able to," Percy told him distantly.

"Maybe treat yourself with a little rear-banquet?" Nico offered. "If I could not sleep, I would always sneak into the kitchens and get a little something to eat."

Percy smiled slyly at the prince. "Or maybe..." 

"Maybe what?" Nico asked, chilled by the cold air.

"You could sleep with me," the captain winked. "In my bed. Just you and me." 

A visible blush appeared on Nico's cheeks. "U-um, I do not know if that—" 

Percy laughed. "It is only sleeping. I thought you said my bed was comfortable." 

"I-it is, it is only that we've never slept in it _together_ before."

"Do not underestimate the power of body heat," Percy told him, grabbing Nico's hand in his and leading him into the Captain's Quarters, the prince's brilliant blush deepening. 

Percy released Nico's hand from his grip and began to undress for bed, the flustered prince looking like he was about to explode. 

"What's wrong?" asked Percy as he took off his belt. 

"You are not decent at the moment," replied the younger boy, whose gaze was locked upon the ceiling. 

The captain laughed once more before he stood, approached Nico, and held his warm cheek in his hand. Percy pecked him on the lips. 

"I do not mind if you see," Percy said softly, his tone nearly a whisper. "I am only undressing for bed. You have no reason to be flustered."

Nico felt Percy's lips press against his once more and felt his eyes flutter shut. Kissing Percy was new to him, a little strange even, but it was not unenjoyable. 

Percy pulled away with a smile. "Are you coming to bed or not?"

Nico needed several seconds to acknowledge what the captain was saying to him. "Y-yes, I am."

Percy's grin grew even wider as he saw the boy take off his boots and pieces of uncomfortable clothing. He climbed onto the bed eagerly and waited for Nico to join him. It had been a while since he had his mother hold him while he slept, and he wondered how different it would feel if it was Nico instead of her. He was actually excited that Nico was joining him. 

Nico climbed under the blanket, immediately feeling Percy's arm ravel around his waist as he lied down. He felt his cheeks heat up. 

"P-Percy, what are you—" 

"Shh, it is time to sleep," came Percy's response as the older boy briefly revoked his arm from around Nico so he could put out the candle next to his bed, leaving the two males in complete darkness.

Percy held Nico possessively against his chest as he felt himself nodding off, the prince enveloped in Percy's warmth. The captain was right: never underestimate body heat.


	14. Greed Kills More Than The Sword

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the map, the crew and its new members arrive at the elusive, yet treacherous Skull Cove.

The crew of the Black Coral, excluding Percy and Nico of course, woke with a start to loud, high pitched screaming. 

Piper, about to murder the person screaming, especially so early in the morning, was held back by Annabeth.

"W-where am I?" panicked the young faun, her legs shivering noticeably.

"Calm down, Bram," Frank told her. "Percy is a friend of mine."

"B-but they killed so many people-"

"In self-defense," argued Piper. "If we had not, we would have been killed ourselves."

Bramble calmed down a small amount as Frank comforted her, Piper still very upset about losing her valuable sleep.

\- - - - - 

Nico woke to the sunlight shining on his face. He lifted himself up from his lying position, seeing the blinding light of the sun reflecting upon the sea. A small smile appeared on his face, for he believed freedom looked like this. He thought it looked like the wind pushing the sail, the ship pushing through the unexplored waters of the sea, or like the rain cascading from the skies and landing in the ocean.  He thought it looked like the sea of stars in the night sky, the silver moonlight creating a trail on the water for him to follow to the horizon. 

Lost in his thoughts, Nico leaned upon his arm to hold him up, not noticing the captain waking up beside him. With one eye open, he admired the prince who was awestruck by the sight he saw every morning. 

Nico felt a protective arm sneak around his waist. Startled, he jolted slightly before seeing the captain was smiling admirably at him. 

"What?" Nico smiled back. 

"Nothing," was Percy's response as he held onto the prince more tightly. "Good morning, my prince." 

Nico felt heat rise into his cheeks. "G-good morning, captain." 

"Are you getting up so soon?" the captain whined. "Come here." 

Nico lied back down, facing Percy, who was smiling at him. 

"I-I never had done this before."

Percy laughed. "It is alright, neither have I. However, you look adorable when you blush."

Nico felt Percy's hand slither to his face, caressing his reddened cheeks with his thumb. Percy leaned toward the younger boy, briefly pressing his lips against his. Nico kissed back, feeling oddly domestic and comfortable. 

"I could get used to this," Nico thought as he curled into Percy's warmth, enjoying the feeling of his arms around him. 

Unbeknownst to Nico, Percy was thinking the exact same thing.

"Captain!" was the shout, along with the loud knocking on the door, that brought Percy and Nico from their tranquility.

"What is it, Jason?" Percy asked annoyedly, sitting up slightly and removing his arm from around Nico, who felt its absence immediately. 

"The faun girl woke up," said the first mate. "Her name was Bramble, or something like that. Should we give her something to eat?" 

"Ask Piper," groaned Percy, lying back down on the bed. 

"Aye, captain. Also, Nico is nowhere to be found," Jason told him. "I checked the Crow's Nest, the galley, and everywhere else, including his usual station at the bow, but he was not present. Do you have any idea of where he could be?" 

Nico's eyes widened, looking at Percy in fear. 

Percy looked directly at him with a reassuring smile. "No idea." 

"This is bad," Jason fretted. "I will check the helm again." 

"Go ahead," Percy grinned. He waited until Jason walked away before kissing Nico again. "What am I going to do with you?"

"No clue," Nico smiled back. "Throw me into the ocean, maybe."

"I would jump in right after you," Percy told him, placing a kiss on Nico's jawbone.

"You would?" Nico asked softly, but jokingly.

"Of course," Percy matched his tone. "I have done it before, have I not?"

Nico thought back to when he was knocked off the ship by the swinging boom and was thrown into the ocean. He felt a slight pain in his chest just by thinking about it. It was not that long ago, yet it felt like ages.

"Yes, I guess you have," Nico answered absently. 

Percy noticed his prince lost in thought, so he placed a kiss on his cheek before getting up out of bed, earning a whine from Nico. 

"It's cold here without you."

"Then get up as well," Percy smiled, offering his hand, which Nico accepted. 

Percy dressed in his clothes and strapped on his belt, Nico following suit, before the two exited the Captain's Quarters and walked together below deck for breakfast.

\- - - - - 

"It has been a week and no luck," complained the sailors on the Queen Maria, all except for one. 

"Well, we are not going to find him immediately, are we?" asked the lone sailor exasperatedly. 

"We are sailing in a large ocean, and we've not even the slightest idea what the ship even looks like," complained another. 

"Then we must check all of them." The man looked down upon his compass. "We were near Ireland, so I suppose they cannot be too far from there?" 

"They could be on the opposite side of the ocean. The prince could be dead by now." 

"If Perseus Jackson wanted him dead, he would have killed him right on the deck," the sailor barked. "I seen it. Jackson wanted him alive for some reason."

The ship became silent. 

"No talk of death on this ship," the captain ordered. "Nor those damned sea dogs. We do not want to get killed, do we?"

"No, sir," answered the crew in a grim unison. 

"Aye, then," the captain nodded as he turned the wheel to direct the ship into stronger winds. "Now all of ye, back to work." 

\- - - - -

"Have you even read the map yet?" asked Jason as he munched on a piece of bread. 

"No, not yet," answered Nico, pulling the piece of paper from his belt. 

The crew eyed the worn parchment with curiosity. Nico set it upon the table and unrolled it for the rest of the crew to see. There was the skull, and the translations in red ink below the strange runes. 

"That is it?" asked Annabeth, tilting the map so she could see it more clearly. 

"Perfect," grinned Piper. "Unimaginable riches, here we come." 

Percy smiled at his cheering crew as he sipped his morning rum until his eyes met Nico's. Nico gave him a small smile from across the table, causing Percy's heart to skip a beat. 

"What is wrong with me?" the Captain thought. 

Nico gave him a confused look before his gaze switched to Annabeth, who was busy analyzing the map. 

"'Greed kills more than the sword'," Annabeth read.

"Pardon me, but repeat that, please?" requested Nico.

"I have heard something similar." Annabeth ignored the prince and continued muttering to herself. "Except it was 'Gluttony kills more than the sword'. It is a proverb. But why would that be on this map?" 

"Perhaps it is implying something," Nico proposed. 

"What would it be implying?" Leo queried. 

"There is treasure there, am I correct?" Nico asked. 

"Most likely," Annabeth told him. "Do not get your hopes up." 

"If there is treasure," Nico corrected, earning a nod of approval from the blonde linguist. "Then it must be saying we must not take too much of it." 

"Or, perhaps, that all of us gets equal share," Piper suggested.

"I suggest we split into groups," Percy finally spoke. "Four groups of two, so we have more people at different positions. In case we get into danger, Frank and Bramble will be our decoys, so they will be in a group."

The crew nodded in agreement. 

"Wait, decoys?" Bramble asked. "Does that mean we will be the first on the line?" 

"Yes, but do not worry, you make sure that all of us won't get killed," Percy told her, which did not make her feel better about the situation whatsoever. "Annabeth is a strategist and performs excellently in combat, so I will pair her with Piper as our offensive line."

"Yes, Captain," answered the two females in unison. 

"Leo and Jason will stay on the ship, protecting it, if you will," Percy continued. "Jason will be stationed at the crow's nest to spot any threats, while Leo will be manning the deck and preparing the cannons." 

"What about you and I then," Nico asked.

"We," Percy grinned. "Will be retrieving the treasure. But do not fret, everyone, we will all get an equal amount. Any questions?"

"Um, what exactly are we doing, now?" Frank asked. 

"Well, you see Nico here-" Percy raveled his arm around the prince, which caused his face to redden. "-has found the map to Skull Cove." 

Frank's eyes widened remarkably. "Skull Cove? As in, 'the treasure that will make you rich beyond belief' Skull Cove? But isn't that only a legend? And have you not heard of the curse?" 

"Curse?" Nico asked curiously. 

"Everyone who went to the 'Skull Cove' had never gotten out, dead or alive." 

Nico felt nervous all of a sudden. He and Percy were the ones going inside, after all. 

"Well, if it kills us, at least we had a good run," Percy waved it off, although he felt anxious about going. "We did gain notoriety, after all."

\- - - - - 

Annabeth stood at the helm, holding the map in one hand and guiding the wheel with the other. She glanced at her compass, making sure the ship was heading in the right direction. Jason stood in the high crow's nest, looking for danger or any of the land marks described in the map. 

Piper swam beside the ship before noticing something glistening on the bottom of the ocean. She swam deeper to inspect what it was. She picked up the golden object in her hand, only to find that it was Riptide, Percy's sword. She asked herself how it got on the bottom of the reef as she swam to the surface beside the ship. She put the sword in her mouth as she climbed the side of the ship.

"Captain!" Piper shouted once she reached the main deck and took the golden cutlass from her mouth. 

"Yes, Piper?" Percy asked, emerging from below deck. 

"I found something you must have lost," Piper told him smugly, waving Percy's desired weapon in her hand. 

"You found it?!" Percy surprisedly took the sword from the siren. "How?"

"I was on my swim and found it on the bottom," she explained briefly. "How much longer till we get there?" 

"I am not sure," Annabeth answered. "It could be days before we get the- wait. Those rocks look identical to the ones on this map. We were closer than I initially thought!"

"We are there, already?" asked Leo, who was fixing the damage made from their encounter the night before with the late Princess Andromeda. 

"Nearly," Annabeth answered the former servant, glancing at the map. "There are only a few more leagues to travel. We will get there soon enough."

It was a little after noon when they arrived at their destination, and was it a grim one. The sun, which was at its highest point in the sky, beat upon the crew's shoulders as they examined their surroundings. Sunken ships littered the cove, some of them appearing above the surface. Beyond the sea of sunken ships was a gigantic rock formation which very closely resembled a skull, which likely gave the place its name. 

"Skull Cove, huh? Well, isn't this place lovely?" Leo spoke, breaking the uneasily silent atmosphere. "Well, we got here, let us go back now-" 

"No," Nico told him. "We have gotten this far, have we not?" 

"Aye, let's get into formation as discussed earlier," Percy ordered. 

"Yes, captain." 

Leo and Jason stayed upon the ship as instructed while Piper, Annabeth, Frank, and Bramble stood upon the peninsula of white sand, preparing for anything that could be deemed a threat. 

Nico and Percy took a longboat into the dodgy waters, anxiety gnawing upon the prince's insides. Percy gave him a reassuring look to calm him down if only slightly, but Percy could not blame his somewhat-lover, not even a little. He was terrified, as well. 

Percy carefully dodged the ships that had reached their end in the cove as he rowed the boat toward the rock formation. Nico looked uneasy, and the only thing Percy wanted to do was kiss that look away from his face. He could not, however, because he felt about as uneasy as the prince was, as his stomach was debating whether he was going to lose his breakfast or not. 

Percy rowed them between the snaggy teeth of the skull, which Percy was certain was the entrance to the treasure. Once they were far enough in the continuous tunnel, not a shred of light was to be seen, and the two boys were sitting in the complete darkness. They could not see a single thing except the color black. It would not make a difference if their eyes were shut. 

"Percy?"

"Yes, Nico?"

"Are you nervous?" 

"Why do you ask?" 

"I- I think I would feel better if I knew the feeling was mutual."

"Yes, I am very nervous." 

Percy felt the boat rock as Nico crawled over to him, wrapping his limbs around the captain's waist. He felt Nico's hair tickle his face and his warm, shallow breaths on his neck gradually slowing and calming. Percy wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around him, but he continued on rowing, his arms beginning to tire. 

Suddenly, the two males felt the boat hit the end of the tunnel. 

"I believe we are here," Percy told the prince, letting go of the oars and stroking his hand through Nico's hair, who emitted a soft sigh against his neck. Percy pressed a kiss to his forehead before standing, causing the longboat to wobble, startling Nico. 

Percy stepped out of the boat, feeling for Nico's hand so he had something to hold on to. 

"Shouldn't this place be full of unbelievable riches?" asked Nico softly. 

"No, Nico," Percy answered. "If it were that easy, it would have been taken already." 

"How do we know if it had not already been taken?" 

"The rumors would spread. Anything that remarkable would already been spread throughout the world." 

"That is true."

Percy gripped Nico's hand tighter in his own, before bringing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to one of his knuckles. Nico was suddenly thankful that it was so dark, or Percy would have seen how flustered he was. 

"If it hadn't already been taken then, where is it?" Nico inquired, breaking the brief silence. 

"I am not sure," Percy told him. 

They began to wander around in the darkness of the cave, feeling against the walls to know where they were. Suddenly, when Nico stepped on something, they heard something slide open. Nico turned to see a wall had opened, and was lit by torchlight. 

"I found it!" Nico shouted in excitement, which earned a brief kiss on his lips from the captain of the Black Coral. 

They stepped inside the lit chamber, which was colder than they expected. However, they were both confused. The only thing that was in the room was several skeletons and a small chest in the far end. Percy kneeled, moving an arm bone of one of the cobweb-covered skeletons that was covering the chest, and opened it. The only thing it contained was- 

"Another map?!" Percy cried as he opened it. It was indeed a map.

"Another one?" Nico asked, surprised as he looked upon it over Percy's shoulder. 

Then, the wall of the cave slid closed, trapping the two boys inside the chamber.


	15. Trapped!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy and Nico are trapped in the cave, and a portion of the crew goes in to look for them.

"How long do you think they have been in there?" asked Piper, who had just returned from inspecting the ship graveyard in the cove. 

The siren grabbed her wet hair and began to ring it out, water from her brown, choppy hair leaking onto the small peninsula of once dry sand. The sun was threateningly close to the horizon, the sky beginning to turn pink and orange. 

"I do not know," Annabeth answered. 

They had been gone for five hours and had not come back.

"Do you think they might be in trouble?" Bramble asked worriedly as she looked up from the sand castle she and Frank were building. 

"I am not sure," Annabeth told the faun.

"This is ridiculous," Jason shouted to the rest of the crew as he approached them on the beach. "They have been gone for hours! Where could they be?"

"Do you think they might be dead?" asked Leo worriedly.

"Might be," Piper shrugged calmly, but she was actually extremely worried about her friends. 

"As first mate, I will assume command, and I will send in a search party," Jason announced. "Frank, Annabeth, and I will stay here and keep watch on the ship. Piper, Leo, and Bramble will go in and look for them." 

"Whatever you say, Jason." Piper flicked his nose before preparing a longboat. 

Jason rolled his eyes. "Annabeth, Frank, come with me to the ship. We will watch from there. It is good to get a vantage point, so I will be stationed at the crow's nest." 

"Aye," Annabeth told him. Once boarded on the ship, she climbed the stairs and positioned herself at the helm as Piper, Leo, and Bramble paddled past the murky waters into the mouth of the skull-shaped cave. 

\- - - - - 

"Percy, if we are going to die in here, I wish to ask you something." 

Nico and Percy were sitting in the chamber, backs against a cold wall of the cavern. They had been in there for nearly five hours. They had spent the first two hours trying to find a way out of there, feeling for cracks in the main entrance, then trying to find another one, or an opening of some kind, but failed, so they both gave up after a while. The two were incredibly bored, so they settled for asking each other questions.

"What is it?" Percy replied, looking over at the prince as he held his hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb. 

"Would it be safe for me to—" Nico began, but stopped suddenly out of embarrassment. His cheeks flared as he tried to muster up the confidence to finish the question.

"For you to do what?"

"Are we lovers?" asked Nico after a moment of excruciating silence. "I am quite confused about this. We are...affectionate, but—"

"We could be lovers if you would like us to be," Percy responded. 

"But would you like us to be?" Nico countered.

"Of course I would." Percy kissed the back of Nico's fingers in reassurance. "In fact, I would prefer it if we were. I am not much for labels, but you are...different."

"Different?" Nico repeated. "How so?"

"Well," Percy felt heat rise into his face. "Whenever you are around, when you look at me or smile at me, I feel...strange. It is hard to explain, but I feel nervous and so unlike myself. I want to impress you, I want to hold you; I always want you by my side. Ever since you joined my crew I felt...different. Whenever you were not around me, I felt lonely. I did not realize my feelings for you until recently but I—"

Percy's words were interrupted once more by Nico's lips pressing against his, the prince's hands raveling into the captain's raven hair. The kiss deepened remarkably until Nico felt something warm prod at his bottom lip. Shocked, Nico pulled away. 

"What is wrong?" Percy asked, confused. 

"What was that?" Nico raised his hand to feel his swollen bottom lip. Strangely, he could still feel how Percy's lips felt on his. 

"I believe that was my tongue." Percy gave a breathy chuckle. "You have no need to pull away so suddenly. I assure you, I am not going to hurt you." 

Nico nodded, his face so close to the pirate's that he could feel his breath on his cheeks. The prince's gaze fell upon Percy's own kiss-bruised lips that looked oddly soft and welcoming. Nico felt Percy's lips crash onto his before it actually occurred. The taste of salt on Percy's tongue was stronger now, Nico noticed as he buried his hands into Percy's raven hair again. He felt the other boy's hand slide under his shirt, caressing the smooth skin on the small of his back. 

Their breathing grew shallower as the kiss grew deeper, Percy's hands moving further up Nico's shirt as the prince moved to straddle his hips. Nico pulled away for a quick breath before connecting their lips again, enjoying the feeling of kissing him and the sweet, distinct taste of his lover. 

The world was theirs, they felt. Despite that they were both positive that they were going to die in there, they had never felt more alive.

\- - - - - 

"It's dark in here," whined Bramble as Piper tried not to throw her overboard. "Why is it so cold?" 

"Is it true, the legend Frank said?" fretted Leo. "How much longer do you think it will be before we are dead?" 

"Why must I always get stuck with the whining babies?" Piper wondered annoyedly as the longboat suddenly jolted, finally hitting the end of the dark tunnel. The siren nearly cheered in relief. 

"Are we there?" Leo asked tremulously. "Are we dead yet?" 

"Of course not, you idiot," Piper retorted at last. "We merely hit the end of the tunnel." 

"Oh," Leo replied. "Well, where are they? Are they dead?" 

"How would I know?" asked Piper exasperatedly. "I cannot see anything." 

"I thought sirens could see in the dark," Bramble spoke up. 

"No, we do not have that ability, despite the rumors," responded Piper. "Now, let us look for them before the chance that we all get killed increases, hm?"

"Alright," Leo gulped, not liking that probability one bit. 

The only sounds in the caverns at the moment were the water sloshing against the bits of rock, Leo's shallow breathing, the rustle of their clothes and clacking of Piper's beaded hair as they moved, and the sounds of their footsteps, or in Bramble's case, the clomping of her hooves, as they wandered the cave, searching for their missing friends. 

"The treasure is supposed to be here, is it not?" Leo asked after a long period of unsettling silence. 

"It would never be that easy," Piper told the former servant. "If it were, someone would have already received it, and the rumors would spread. Everyone would know. It must be hidden." 

"What about Captain Percy and Nico?" asked Bramble. "Do you think they might be stuck?" 

"We better hope so," Piper answered grimly. "Looking upon our circumstances, that would be our best case scenario." 

"Aye." Leo swallowed his saliva nervously once more. 

The silence had returned and Leo would give nearly anything to break it, but the siren seemed stressed and he would even go as far to describe her as anxious, so he did not wish to annoy her further with his usual unnecessary babble. 

\- - - - - 

Nico gasped in Percy's mouth as the latter softly bit at the soft skin of the prince's bottom lip. Percy caressed the smooth plane of skin that was Nico's back underneath his clothing. Nico's skin grew hotter and tingled at Percy's touch. 

Nico quite enjoyed the feeling of Percy's hands, which were callused from a long time spent at sea, caressing his skin, and his mind even wandered to what it would feel like if his rough hands were to explore the rest of his body. Nico flushed from the thought, an unsuspecting Percy moving his lips against Nico's as if his life depended upon it. The captain slid his hands down Nico's back and gripped on his hips, continuing the assault on Nico's lips. 

Nico moaned, which was muffled by Percy's mouth, as he felt Percy's warm, sleek tongue slide into his mouth, beginning to flick his own. The sound only invigorated Percy, whose grip on Nico's hips tightened. 

Unbeknownst to the lovers, the members of their crew that were sent in to look for them had found them. 

"C-Captain," Piper spoke up, ripping both Percy and Nico from their trance. 

The two males tore away from each other, absolutely mortified at being discovered. 

"Hello, Piper," Percy chuckled nervously, his hands still resting on the prince's hips as he straddled him, their faces rapidly gaining color.

Nico quickly removed his hands from the captain's hair and stood up, grabbing the map from the floor and handing it to the siren. 

"What is this?" Piper asked curiously, as if what she had recently seen had been forgotten. 

"The 'treasure'," Percy answered, lifting himself to his feet as well. 

"This is it?" Piper sighed as she opened the rolled up parchment. "Another map? This Captain Kronos really was being safe about his treasure, wasn't he?" 

"I suppose so," Nico shrugged, his face still burning from embarrassment. 

"Oh, and congratulations, you two," Piper told them, not looking up from the map. Her eyes followed the trail, but did not look upon the final destination just yet.

"Thank you very much," Percy replied, sending a wink towards Nico, causing him to hide his face in his hands. 

After Piper rolled her eyes and stored the parchment on her belt, they travelled back to their ship on the two longboats, Percy and Nico on one, the search party on the other. It was not a very silent journey, though. 

"So, you two are...lovers now?" grunted Leo from the other longboat as he and Piper rowed.

"Yes," Nico answered, gripping more tightly on the oars he was moving.

"Are you mad?" Leo exclaimed. "You met only a week ago!" 

"You are aware that I am sitting right here, right?" Percy asked, rowing his own oars.

"Sorry, captain," Leo withdrew from the subject.

"And, no, I am not mad," Nico added. "He reaches my expectations."

He smiled at Percy, the latter immediately smiling back at his lover as they paddled the boat back to their ship. 

"They are back!" Jason shouted at the others once he saw the familiar approaching figures. "Let down the ladders!" 

"Where's the treasure?" Annabeth asked. 

"Perhaps they want us to help them with it," Frank suggested as they released the ladders for the rest of their crew to climb up the Black Coral.

"Where have you been!" Annabeth exclaimed as she saw the two missing males mount the deck. 

"We were trapped," replied the captain, “in the caverns.”

"There was a secret chamber in which the walls would open and close," added Nico. "We stepped inside and the entrance closed behind us. We were convinced we were going to die in there."

"Then we came and saved them," Piper gloated.

"What about the treasure?" asked Jason, who had recently descended from the crow's nest. 

"Well, there was a form of treasure inside." Percy winked once again at the prince, whose face gained color. 

"What was it?" Annabeth queried.

"These two," Piper grinned impishly, gesturing at the prince and the captain. "Were about to shoot twixt wind and water." 

Nico choked on his own saliva as Percy's face burned red, Leo looking quite ready to throw himself off the side of the ship. 

"That did not happen!" shouted Percy, his face a wonderful shade of radish.

"Oh, yes it did," Piper responded in a singsong voice. 

"We were merely kissing!" Nico protested.

"I'm pretty sure that there was some tongue in there," Piper teased slyly.

"Okay Piper, that is quite enough," Annabeth warned jokingly. "At this rate, Captain might combust." 

Percy rolled his eyes as he glanced over at Nico, whose shoulders were tense as he looked ashamedly at the wooden planks of the deck, which were varying in length.

"Nico," Percy approached the prince, caressing his cheek with his thumb. "It is all right, no one is malevolently teasing you. Piper is having some fun, is all. You have no need to feel ashamed of yourself. Okay?" 

Nico nodded, shifting his eyes to see Percy's gentle ones, which calmed the prince down greatly. He was not used to such open-minded people, for he was royalty, and royalty should like people of the opposite gender like everyone else. He was expected to conform with certain customs deemed as "normal", but he did not wish to. He wanted to be with Percy. Nico closed his eyes at Percy's caressing of his face, leaning into his touch. 

"There, see?" Percy smiled, kissing Nico's forehead briefly. He then turned away. "Now, what is on that map, Piper?" 

"Map?" Annabeth asked.

"Of course, I apologize, for I have forgotten," Percy told her. "All that was in there was a map to another destination." 

"Is the treasure there?" asked Jason. 

"I am not sure," Percy answered candidly. "Now, what is on the map?"

Piper pulled the map from her belt and opened it once more. Once, she glanced down at where the map was directing to, her face paled remarkably, which was definitely indicating something, given she was quite swarthy.

"What is wrong?" Percy asked, looking concernedly at his friend. He had never seen her like this.

She merely pointed at a place on the map. There was a large rock sitting in the middle of a large body of water, adjacent to two large caves. Under the grey rock, written in neat cursive, was Siren's Rock.

"What is that?" asked Nico.

"That," Piper replied hesitantly. "Was my home before I ran off."


	16. Revenge of the Drunkards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The men from the Devil’s Port reappear for a rematch, but with more men and a bloodthirsty ambition to retrieve the map that was stolen from them.

The atmosphere was tense for the next several days, especially around Piper. She obviously did not want to return to the place she had fled, but she was their only hope to get Captain Kronos's treasure that he never had received, for he had been caught and hanged before he could. 

"Percy." Nico leaned in to his lover's touch as he stroked his hair softly. 

They were lying in Percy's bed, the prince enveloped in Percy's warmth as he had his arms wrapped around him in a chrysalis of comfort. They had been like this since morning, and the day was approaching mid-afternoon. The rest of the crew knew better than to bother their captain while he was with the prince, for they had been snapped at a few times over the course of the days that had passed since the Skull Cove incident. 

"Hm?" hummed Percy in response before pressing a feather-light kiss to Nico's forehead. Nico could not tell the difference, anyway. He enjoyed all of Percy's kisses, whether he was roughly attacking his lips, which had not occurred since they were trapped together in the chamber, or if it were a mere brush of the lips, he had no preference. 

"I had been thinking." Nico closed his eyes, nuzzling his nose in Percy's shoulder. 

"About what, my prince?" joked Percy, earning a half-hearted glare from the other male, for Percy acknowledged fully of how much Nico despised his title. 

"Why did Piper run from her home?" Nico asked. "I am sure that if I brought it up to her, she would simply change the subject." 

Percy laughed briefly. "Aye, that sounds very much like Piper." 

"But, why did she?" Nico repeated, sitting up slightly and perching on his forearm to hold him up, a gesture in which the captain followed suit. 

"Well, you know her voice is not very strong, correct?" Percy asked him. 

Nico nodded in response. "Is that a bad thing?" 

Percy shrugged. "To sirens, I suppose. Therefore, they harassed her for it, and multiple members of her family shunned her for it. She simply did not feel at home, so once she was able to, she ran from there." 

"So, she is afraid of being harassed?" asked Nico. 

"I think it is more of bad memories that she wishes to stay far away from there," Percy explained. "I did something similar. I suppose, we are all runaways here. Jason ran from his alcoholic mother. Piper ran from her species. I ran from my abusive step father. You ran from royalty and coercion." 

Nico nodded in understanding. "I suppose so."

Percy flashed a grin at him before pecking his lips and sitting up fully on the bed, pulling on his boots. Nico did agree it was about time to socialize with the remainder of their crew, so he did the same. The lovers joined Piper and the others out on the main deck.

\- - - - - 

"But, Your Highness, we already sent out the majority of the armada and our men." 

Hades scowled at the knight, before placing his hands on the arms of his throne and standing up. 

"Was it a suggestion," the King of Italy growled. "Or was it an order from your king?" 

"S-sir-"

"Was it a suggestion," repeated King Hades, raising his voice. "Or was it an order?!"

The knight shivered. "An order, sir."

"Indeed it was," was Hades's response as he settled back in his throne. "If it means sending all the ships, the remainder of the army, and all of the men in the nearby villages, even if it means sailing the entire ocean, I will find my son, and Perseus Jackson will be hanged over the harbor! Now, off with you! Inform every man above thirteen in the village that they will be sent out to sea! You will board a ship, as well." 

"Yessir." The knight nodded before running out of the castle to climb upon his horse to gallop through the village surrounding the castle, informing the families about the latest royal decree. 

\- - - - - 

"I have put some thought into it."

The pirates sitting at the table looked up at Piper, who had just returned from her diurnal swim, which could have been deduced from her dripping wet hair and sagging clothes. 

"You have thought about what, Piper?" asked Percy, although he had a good feeling about what it was. 

"I will go back to Siren's Rock," Piper told them.

"But, won't your family degrade you?" queried Nico concernedly.

Piper smiled at the prince, ruffling his dark hair, and earning a half-hearted glare from him.

"Most likely, but what would I care?" Piper told him confidently, although she felt very unsure of it herself. "I left them for a reason. I am quite sure I deserve better than their malevolent remarks."

"After all—" Jason caught the siren's attention with a light smile. "We are your family now, are we not?" 

Piper's grin grew wider as she flicked his nose again. "Of course you are, Grace. Why would you not be?" 

Jason rubbed at his nose, giving her a glare nearly identical to Nico's. 

"Then, it is settled." Percy jolted everyone out of their teasing each other by slamming his hands upon the table. "Piper, what is the plan?"

Piper's lips settled into a scheming smirk. "I think you will quite enjoy this, but you better bring out your ear plugs, or something similar. If you do not, you will regret it eventually." 

\- - - - - 

"Nico," Leo called to him. 

Nico was standing at his usual position on the bow, watching the horizon intently. 

After not receiving an answer from the prince, Leo huffed in exasperation before approaching him. 

"Nico," Leo repeated.

Nico looked behind him to see his close friend. "Yes?" 

"I need to ask you a question," Leo told him. 

"I am listening," replied the prince, his eyes finding their way back to the sea.

"Do you love him?"

Nico's gaze snapped back onto Leo, his face gaining color.

"I-It is a bit too early to determine if I am in love with him—"

"When did you become lovers, then?" Leo queried. "Has it been the entire time we have been part of the crew, or-" 

"No, it has not," Nico interrupted. "We have been lovers for a mere three or four days."

"And you are already sleeping in his bed?" Leo raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

"H-how did you—" 

"Your— I mean, Nico," Leo addressed. "It is not to difficult to figure out. You and Percy are lovers. I woke up in the middle of the night last night, and you were not in your cot. Jason and Annabeth went up to the Captain's Quarters yesterday and were silent all morning, but they only stated that Captain had snapped at them. I merely assumed you were with him. Has he... attempted anything?" 

Nico flushed red. "No, of course he has not!" 

"I was merely asking," Leo told him with a shrug. 

The two friends were brought out of their serenity, or in Nico's case, embarrassment, by the shout of the first mate.

"Captain! We have company!" Jason shouted as he climbed down the crow's nest and ran to the starboard side. 

"Who is it?" Percy made his way across the deck to see what Jason was implying. Jason handed the captain the spyglass, which he positioned at his right eye. 

Nico left his elfish friend at the bow and approached Percy to see what was occurring. 

"I have never seen that flag before," Percy told the two boys standing beside him. 

"May I take a look?" Nico asked.

Percy nodded and handed his lover the spyglass, the latter placing the brass tube before his eye and gazing through it. He got a good look at the ship before handing the tool back to Jason. 

"I have no idea," Nico concluded. "However, it looks like it is coming straight for us, so I would suggest preparing for battle." 

Percy nodded. "Prepare for battle!" 

The captain caught the attention of the other crew members and told them their positions. 

\- - - - - 

The crew waited there, in battle stance, while Jason and Leo disappeared below to man the cannons. 

"How much longer?" Nico whispered to Percy, looking at the sun which neared the horizon ever so slowly. 

"Any moment now," Percy told him, not taking his eyes off of the nearing threat. 

Then, they heard a shout. 

"Perseus Jackson!" 

The captain rolled his eyes.

"You, thieving, conniving sea dog! How dare you take my map!" 

Nico remembered that voice. Could it have been—

The enemy ship pulled to a stop before boarding Percy's; the three drunkards from the Devil's Port came climbing aboard, except with more men. 

"You had the audacity to steal my map to Skull Cove!" shouted the man Nico had dueled. "Now, that I am in stable fighting condition, I will get my revenge!" 

Percy unleashed his legendary golden sword from its sheath, his hand clenching around its handle. 

"Oh, will you now?" Piper smirked devilishly. 

"Aye," one of the three brutes responded. "He is the greatest swordsman in the world, haven't you heard?" 

"We have heard a lot of things," Jason quipped. "But that certainly was not one of 'em."

The enemy crew growled at the first mate. 

"Well, it is true," boasted the previous owner of the map, playing with the handle of his sword. "I truly am the greatest." 

The crew of the Black Coral merely rolled their eyes. 

Nico drew his weapon and gave the man a challenging look, which looked deadly (and sexy, in Percy's opinion). 

The man smirked and drew his own weapon, the same sword he fought Nico with nearly a week prior. 

Percy felt tempted to stop him; he had no idea why, but now, he did not think he could withstand to see the younger boy get hurt. He felt strangely possessive and protective over him, but the captain knew that he had to let Nico fight his own battles. He was very talented at it, anyway. 

Their swords collided in a loud clash, breaking the somewhat silence that the twilight held. Nico noticed he was remarkably better at predicting his attacks and strategizing on which move he was going to make next. Nico felt a little intimidated, his confidence diminishing slightly. 

Meanwhile, the other men decided to keep the others busy in case they planned to interfere with Nico and the arrogant man's battle. 

If one were to look upon the scene as it was now; if one was to hear the noises the weapons made as they collided against others, they would wonder if the night was ever silent. Percy was wondering as such as he countered another man's attack with his Riptide. 

Nico dodged another calculated swing. Now that he was not intoxicated, the man was actually a worthy opponent. Nico would not go as far as to say that he was the greatest swordsman, but his talent was undeniable. 

However, Nico was still better. Nico knew his weaknesses just by hearing him speak. He was far too overconfident and prideful, so all Nico would have to do is lose some dignity. The prince was not afraid of that, at all. 

"I am not sure if I could win," Nico bluffed. "Your talent is way too good for a young man's like mine."

The man chuckled. "Giving up already?" 

Nico could see his movements falter, knowing that the man thought he was winning. 

"I thought so," the man gloated, crossing their blades. "No one is as good as me. Especially in sword fighting. Taking down this ship will be easy. I might keep you, though. You would make a lovely little plaything."

Nico tried not to gag as he swiftly moved his thin blade and cut a deep gash into the man's thigh. The man's facial expression morphed into one of surprise as Nico swept his blade from his hand and aimed his weapon at the man's jugular, pressing slightly against his skin. 

Suddenly, once again, a large man shoved him from behind, causing him to drop his sword in surprise. Nico landed on his arms, which had caught his fall. Pain erupted through them, but at least it was his arms rather than his face. 

He felt a sharp knee poke into his back and a cold circle of metal against his scalp. 

"Nico!" Percy shouted before kicking his opponent in a delicate area and stabbing them while they were stunned so he could run over and assist his lover. 

"Not another movement, Perseus Jackson, or I will shoot him." The man had picked Nico up and was holding him in a tight, iron grip with one arm and the other pressing the flintlock pistol against his head as Nico struggled to get free, to no avail. 

Percy froze in his spot. 

"You call yourself a pirate, Perseus Jackson," the large man taunted. He chuckled deeply. "All you are is scum. Filthy scum discarded by everyone." 

"That's not true! You do not know him!" Nico shouted before getting hit by the butt of the gun. 

"Nico!" Percy shouted again, before glaring at the bulky brute. "What do you want?" 

The brute laughed again. "The thing you took from us. We want the map." 

"No, Percy! Do not do it!" Nico told him, getting hit by the gun again, but harder this time. 

Percy growled before grinning smugly. He looked over at the bleeding man, whose crew was bandaging his painful wound. He would not die from it, unfortunately. 

"I will have to fetch it," Percy told the man who held his lover at gunpoint. 

The man eyed him suspiciously before nodding to silently tell him to carry on. 

"Keep an eye on Nico," Percy ordered Annabeth, who had just thrown a man overboard into the icy waters. 

"Aye, sir," Annabeth told him, her eyes trained on the man holding him against his will as Nico shouted at Percy not to give the map to his captor.

Captain Perseus Jackson analyzed the pile of strewn maps he had collected during his time at sea. Eventually, he found the map he was looking for. He rolled it up and stuffed it in his belt before making his way toward his thrashing lover. 

"Here you are," Percy told the bleeding man, handing him the map he requested. "The map you wanted. Now let Nico go." 

The man Nico had fought opened the map, looking it over, and gave Nico's captor a nod. He released the prince from his iron grip, causing him to stumble out on the deck. Percy immediately enveloped him in his arms, pressing soft kisses all over his face. 

"Do not get caught ever again," said Percy into the prince's hair. 

"It is not like I could help it," replied Nico, basking in Percy's warmth, before remembering what Percy had just done. He pushed him away with all the force he had left, sending Percy toppling backwards. 

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Nico demanded, a flame of blind fury burning in his eyes. "Hazel gave herself up for you, for that map, and what do you do? You hand it over to some stranger!"

"He was going to kill you. I had no choice, love," Percy explained, raveling Nico's hand with his and pressing a kiss to it. 

Nico glared at him, but he did not push him away again. Instead, he absently watched the men board their own ship and depart, with the map and all. 

"I cannot believe you actually did that," Nico spoke again after the men gained some distance. "You did have a choice!"

"Nico, you are worth more than that old map," Percy assured him, kissing his cheek. 

"I, a reckless, selfish boy, am not worth more than all of the treasure it leads to!" Nico argued. 

"Love, that map did not lead to any treasure," the captain told him. 

"I-it did not?" Nico stuttered as Percy pulled the map to Siren's Rock from his belt. "Th-then what did you—"

"I gave them the map to Skull Cove, as requested," said Percy with a victorious grin.


	17. A Siren’s Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew travels to Siren’s Rock to retrieve the third map.

Siren's Cove must have been a mysterious place to contain that much fog. That statement went through Nico's mind once he took in his surroundings. The thick fog made it nearly impossible to see anything, despite the streams of silver moonlight escaping through the gaps of the mist and shining upon the deck of the Black Coral as it drifted through the murky waters. 

"Percy," Nico turned and called to his lover, who was standing upon the helm, guiding the ship to their ideal destination. 

Percy held the wooden pegs of the wheel in his hands firmly as Jason shouted directions at him from above. As the first mate, Jason was his eyes. Percy did not want to chance any danger regarding his ship, so he was at his highest peak of concentration as he directed the ship through the potentially dangerous waters, his anxiety causing his temple to throb and his heart to pound in his chest, escalating his breathing pattern slightly. 

He attempted to appear level-headed for his crew; he was the captain, so he had to remain calm. After all, he was the one who kept everyone together: the mortar between the bricks, the nails in the wood, the sap beneath the bark, and if he fell apart, so would everyone else. 

"Percy," Nico repeated, aware of Percy's hyper-focused behavior. 

"Yes, love?" answered the raven-haired male distractedly, for the majority of his attention was aimed upon the waters and whatever Jason was yelling at him from the Crow's Nest. 

Nico noticed his absentminded response, so Nico ventured his way up the left staircase that led to the wooden precipice his lover was standing upon. He stood next to his love; Nico had no idea whether it was safe to call him his love quite yet, but he surely felt concerned for him as he leaned his head against the captain's arm. 

Percy took his attention off of the ocean for a split moment to smile down at the prince. 

"Yes?" Percy repeated in a playful tone, which quite contrasted his nervous mood he had kept up since the ship was directed towards Siren's Rock. 

"You are nervous," Nico told him, leaning into Percy further, intending to calm him with loving contact. 

Percy raised his eyebrows as his eyes locked once more on the slate of blue glass, which seemingly parted for his ship, through the mist. Nico read him like a book. "What gave you that notion?" 

"You are inattentive, your posture is stiffened, your grip on the helm is tightening as we speak," Nico told him, his voice nearly a whisper. "Would you like me to take it for you?" 

Percy shook his head. "I am fine," he said, but the captain was not sure whether he was trying to convince Nico or himself. 

"But are you really?" Nico teased, a slight mischievous smile settling upon the prince's lips. 

Percy looked down at him once more before leaning his head downwards and pressing his lips to the tip of Nico's nose. 

"It is fine," Percy concluded, a sturdy rock of a feeling settling into his stomach. "We will arrive shortly. You should prepare, Nico."

Nico, unsatisfied with Percy's response, placed his palms on Percy's cheeks, the pads of his fingers sliding into raven hair, with his digits split in the middle, molding around Percy's ears and resting against the soft flesh and cartilage. 

Percy was forced to look Nico directly in the face now, and he could now see the seriousness his prince possessed in his expression. A glint in his dark eyes told him that he was concerned for him, his eyebrows creased and forehead contracted slightly. A small frown adorned his lips, and all Percy wanted to do, everything else forgotten, was to kiss it away. 

"Percy, be frank with me, please," Nico requested softly, although Percy acknowledged that it was more of an order than a suggestion. 

"I will try to keep everyone safe no matter what, love," Percy told him. "I will try, even if I don't succeed. I know that everyone needs fear to survive and that we experience it to make us stronger, but this happens to be a situation of the unknown. I cannot predict what will happen, but please stay safe." 

"Is that what you're worried about?" Nico asked. 

"After the gun-to-your-head incident, I realized I have no idea what I would do if anything happened to you. That's why I'm worried," Percy responded. "I do not know what will happen on this journey of ours. I only want to keep you and everyone else safe." 

"I cannot promise," Nico told his lover, his thumb beginning to caress his cheek. 

Percy gave him a small, loving smile. "I am not asking of you to promise. I am asking of you to try and fight the best you can. I know you are very capable, very strong, and very brave, but you are reckless, and I do not know what could happen." 

"People fear the unknown," Nico reassured. "It's of human nature to fear something one doesn't understand. It's easier that way. However, all you need to do is keep your mind upon your goal and to not fret about things that could happen. 'Try your hardest. 'Fight until you cannot anymore. Even if you are not able to, continue to try.' 'If you are determined enough, you will prevail in the end.' They are all merely inspirational nothings, am I correct? If you desperately want it or need it, do anything for it. That's my motto."

Percy smiled gratefully at his lover before closing the gap between them and pressing his lips against Nico's passionately. Nico's hands gripped Percy's face as he returned the kiss.

"Alright, alright, I am taking the helm," Annabeth announced, effectively interrupting the captain and the prince's trance. "It is too risky to be distracted at the wheel."

Her critical gaze was aimed at Nico, which made him flush a bright red. Percy then took his hand and led him to the main deck, allowing the blonde woman assume her position at the wheel.

"I think it is safer for our navigator to take the wheel," Percy joked, trying to lighten the mood. "It would be less of a probability of me crashing into a rock, would it not?" 

Nico merely smiled, placing a small kiss upon Percy's lips to show his appreciation for him. Percy immediately returned it. 

"Oy, lovebirds," called Piper, who was climbing over the side of the ship. Her hair was dripping wet, as was her skin. "You should help me with these ladders. We don't want any unwanted company, right, Jason?" 

"Oh, will you please do us all a favor and shut it!" Jason shouted from the crow's nest, as if on cue. 

Piper snickered as she pulled a ladder up. Frank, Bramble, and Leo had come to assist with the ladders, for they were raveling the other three ladders on the opposite side.

"Why are we putting them away?" asked Nico. "Are we nearing our ideal destination?" 

"Aye," Piper nodded, followed by her spitting off the side of the ship and into the ocean. "We are approaching that nasty old place." 

"How far is it away, by estimation?" queried Annabeth from the helm. 

"I'm not sure, it's not like I measured it," retorted Piper. 

"By estimation," Annabeth repeated, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose in exasperation. 

"Oh, well, then maybe two leagues or so," the siren answered. "I am beginning to recognize some familiar landmarks near my... place of suffering." 

"Aye, aye." Annabeth rolled her eyes. 

Percy smiled at Piper to comfort her. 

"Thank you a lot, Piper," Percy clapped her on the back. "We could not do any of this without you." 

"I know," Piper's lips pulled into an arrogant smirk. "You're not too far behind me, Captain, on places of importance." 

"We would be lost without you," Nico agreed. 

"You're all right, pip squeak," Piper smiled at him. "I'd rank you maybe fifth." 

"Pip squeak?" Nico scoffed. "You're the same height as I am!"

Piper merely laughed. "I know. You're just small for a man."

"I am not!" Nico defended. 

"Oh, that's right, you're a submissive type, are you not?" 

"I am not submissive!" 

Piper raised a skeptical eyebrow. She glanced at Percy, then back at him. "Of course not." 

Nico decided not to fight her on it, for he had fought another particular elf-eared boy on the same subject and lost miserably. They were not too different in terms of sense of humor and pride, now that he thought about it. 

"Alright, alright," Percy said. "Let us get prepared for the enemy. Nico, come gather some materials to cover our ears with me below deck." 

"For their song?" 

"Aye." 

Nico nodded before disappearing below deck with the captain. 

\- - - - - 

The Black Coral reached its destination right as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, dusk falling rapidly upon the sky and waters. Night was approaching fast, and the pirates were nearly out of time before the sirens would return. 

Siren's Rock was a breathtaking place. Through the heavy fog, the crew could see two large caves facing a rock, which had most likely given the place its name. Blue rocks beneath the surface of the bay shined like incandescent lanterns, giving an appropriate amount of lighting. The gaping mouths of the caves were spewing clear, crystal waters into the ocean, which looked fresh enough to drink. 

That idea appealed to Nico incredibly as he observed his surroundings. It seemed like straight out of a fairy tale. However, sightseeing was not why they were there. The map had to be around somewhere. 

"Alright, Piper," Percy smiled brightly. "Where is the map?"

The siren snorted amusedly. "I don't know. None of the others know, either. The siren on Captain Kronos' ship hid it in secret. Not even the Elders know of its location."

Nico's expression morphed into one of shock. "Then how are we supposed to—"

"We will find it," Piper shrugged. "It is not as if we cannot look."

And with that final statement, Piper used her arm as leverage to jump over the side of the ship before disappearing over the edge. A splash soon followed her disappearance, indicating that she reached the water. 

A moment after resurfacing, she shouted up to the rest of her crew, "You should probably prepare those ear plugs." 

"Why?" Nico called down to her. 

She pointed at the darkening horizon, which had several small shapes moving in their direction. 

"We do not have much time, then!" Percy declared. "Where do you think it is?" 

"Perhaps the cave to the right?" Frank suggested.

"No, the one to the left."

"She should check the right one first, then the left," Leo responded.

"I am not sure if we have that much time," Nico told Leo.

Bramble began to issue earplugs to everyone, which came as the form of medical cotton. 

"The right one, then," Leo said. 

"Why the right one?" Jason asked. "That's the one everyone would expect us to look in." 

"But that's maybe what they would expect us to think, the right one is the obvious answer, so we would get the left, but it was in the right one!"

"No, maybe they would have thought that through, as well. Perhaps it is in the one that isn't expected, so we check the other one, thinking that the map would be in the obvious one, because we thought that the least obvious cave would be a trick, while it was in the left one." 

"That doesn't even make sense!" 

"It does! You see, it's the one that we would—"

"Enough!" Percy barked, surprising everyone, including Nico. "Arguing will get us nowhere."

"I agree with captain," Annabeth said. "We need to put our heads together."

"I say it would be in the right cave," Percy spoke.

"Why, Percy?" Nico asked. 

"Well, given that I am right handed, and the correct answer would be the right cave, then the right cave would be the right cave." 

"What?" Jason uproared. "That logic makes absolutely no sense at all!" 

"It is about as logical as your answer, Jason," commented Percy.

"At least mine has evidence to justify it!"

"Intuition is justification enough." 

Annabeth rolled her eyes as she ignored the petty argument and continued to search for the answer on her own. She consulted the map of Siren's Rock, seeing the identical caves around the rock, which had Siren's Rock written on it in pristine ink. There was no indication of where the third map could be, unless...

Her eyes widened in realization. How did she not realize this before? It was on there, plain as day, or night, in their given situation. 

"We don't have time for this!" Nico shouted at his lover and the rest of the crew. "Annabeth, do you have a logical suggestion?" 

"I just might!" Annabeth said excitedly, clenching the now rolled-up papyrus in her fist. 

"The map tells you?" asked Jason. "I've looked over that hundreds of times, and I did not see any indication of where the map could be." 

"That's just it!" Annabeth said. "It looks like there is no indication of where the map is, but there is!" 

Percy gestured for her to hand it to her, a gesture which she obeyed. 

"There is no— wait. Oh God, it was so obvious. How could I not think of that before!" 

"What cave is it, Perseus?" Nico looked over the captain's shoulder to look at the map.

"Neither of them," answered the captain. 

"Huh?" Jason raised a skeptical eyebrow. 

"Neither of the caves have the map," Percy repeated. "It is located..." he pointed at the painted rock on the map. "...Here!" 

"Siren's Rock," Nico read. Suddenly, it all made sense. "Oh, I understand now."

"What do you say, everyone?" Percy grinned up at his crew. 

"It is worth a shot," was the unanimous answer.

"Have you guys decided already?" Piper shouted at them from below. "They are approaching quickly. I am sure they have spotted us by now." 

"Check underneath the rock, Piper," ordered Percy. 

"The rock?" she asked incredulously. "Alright. Whatever you say, Cap'n." 

With that, she dove underneath the coursing waves, making her way toward the infamous rock that she knew all of her life, and which also carried awful memories. 

\- - - - - 

"What is the matter, voiceless?" a snarky female siren laughed. "Are you going to cry?"

"N-no," Piper stuttered, fighting the tears in her eyes and lifting her small body off of the hard rock. "Please give me my fish back."

"Why should I?" she returned, kicking her back onto the cold surface. A couple of the other sirens laughed as she attempted to stand up again, only for her arms to give out and to land back onto the rock.

"I had not anything to eat for the past three days," whined the siren girl as she tried to not cry. "I feel like I am starving to death!" 

"If you ate humans, you would not starve, Pipes," sneered her tormentor. "Or, shall I say, no pipes."

"Please," Piper begged. "Give me it back!"

The girl ate the entire fish whole before Piper was thrown back onto the rock, the coppery taste of blood flooding her mouth. She spit out the bitter flavor, her saliva tinted red. The tears were out of her control as they poured down her cheeks. 

"No voice and does not eat humans? You're a disgrace to sirens. You should just die, you worthless animal!" 

Piper cried harder, her chest heaving with sobs. "I'm n-not a worthless animal. I-I am just like you-ou guys!" 

"If you were like us, your parents would like you," she continued. "They would not wish death upon you, dear." 

\- - - - - 

"Piper!" Percy shouted. "Are you all right?” 

"I-I'm fine!" Piper shouted back at him. "Thank you!"

She continued to feel around the perimeter of the rock, trying to find where the map was hidden. 

"Piper!" Nico shouted. 

"What?" she snapped. 

"The sirens, they've—!"

"Hello, Piper dear," that voice, sweet as honey, sickly as poison, greeted her. The voice that haunted her nightmares for all of these years.

Piper growled. "Drew."


	18. Selfish Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper confronts the sirens that tormented her throughout her life once and for all.

"It's been a long time, dear sister." Drew's voice came out like a purr, but all Piper could hear was pure hatred and malice, and, honestly, the feeling was mutual. The abhorrent siren was seated upon the rock, her slick tail swishing back and forth tauntingly in the water. 

"It indeed has," Piper retorted. "However, I could have gone for longer without seeing you." 

Drew's fake smile faded quickly into a scowl. "That is some big talk coming from a poor excuse for a siren." 

"All offense intended, you are a poor excuse for family, as well." 

Drew scoffed. "Oh, please, who would want to be your family?"

Piper's gaze directed back on her friends on the Black Coral. She smiled at them.

"You mean those humans?" Drew chuckled deviously. "Those are food, not family."

"They are more of family than my own species ever was." Piper's anger burned deep in her chest.

Drew's eyes narrowed. "That is because sirens are an intelligent species, more evolved and the like."

"You may believe you are more evolved, but the only concepts you can accept are primitive."

Drew rolled her eyes to the heavens. "Your views are primitive. Ours is logical. We do not want you or your kind around here. We were happy when you left."

"So was I." 

"Then why have you returned, Voiceless?" 

"There is something here that I desire, and I would prefer to leave with it, then never return."

"Stupid sister," laughed the older siren. "You think you could make off with the map without a fight, did you not? I've seen your bounty posters, pirate." 

Piper merely smirked. "A pirate, and I'm proud." 

"We can easily take care of your friends, do you not realize?" 

"Haha, it would not be that easy," Piper responded. "They are strong willed." 

"Even the humans with the strongest will can not resist their ultimate desires, dear," Drew flashed her another sickly sweet smile, coated with sugary maliciousness. "We can take them not only our using voices, but we can make it so that that ship of yours could be sitting at the bottom of the ocean, with everyone on it." 

Piper's eyes narrowed viciously. "Over my dead body." 

"I'm planning on it, sister dear."

\- - - - - 

"What's going on?" Nico asked Percy. 

"I am not sure," Percy answered, looking down upon the scene.

Suddenly, the siren on the rock leaped onto their friend, the two sirens emerging deep in the murky blue waters of the bay. 

"Piper!" Nico shouted, gripping onto the edge of the starboard side. 

"She's fine," said Percy, placing his hand on Nico's shoulder. 

Honestly, the captain could not have felt any more useless. All he could do was watch his friend being pummeled by a siren she loathed greatly, not able to do anything, not able to help at all. All he could do was watch. That was all anyone could do. 

Piper soon emerged from the mysterious waters, blood dripping down her face from a wound on the side of her forehead. She had scratch marks all over her arms. There was several things that were very different from her usual self. She had fiery passion burning deeply and intensely in her kaleidoscope-resembling eyes. Her teeth had been pointed very sharply, a couple of her teeth jutting out from underneath her top lip. However, more than anything else- 

"She has a tail!" exclaimed Bramble. 

As she did. It was a murky green; as green as a moss stone in a swamp. It flicked with determination as Piper defeated siren after siren, bad experience after bad experience. It was her revenge. She had to be starved and tormented to be here today. She had to suffer to have what she had now, something she had always wanted: a family. 

Drew's eyes widened in trepidation of the monster her sister had become. 

"Piper, what—" 

"You have no permission to speak to me, to ask for mercy," Piper growled as she pinned Drew's throat on the rock. 

However, something unexpected happened. The siren, as well as the crew of the Black Coral froze in fear. One of the sirens, followed by others, began to sing. The tortured melody carried itself to the ship, as if to decide which one of the pirates was the song's next victim to tempt. 

The pirates all slapped their hands over their ears, the cotton in their ears not as strong as the combined songs of the sirens. 

Suddenly, a cannon fired in the air, barreling at the sirens, and effectively hitting a couple. The crew looked over at their cannons. Surely no one on their ship had fired. 

That statement was false, they concluded as the remainder of the crew looked up and saw Leo reloading the cannon and lighting it again, aiming it at one of the caves. 

"Well, are you going to help me stun them, or are we going to let Piper become their next meal?" asked the pointy-eared boy. 

All of the crew came to the available cannons and began to load, making sure not to hit their siren friend. The cannons came pummeling down on them like lead rain, the sirens trying not to be struck again by the enemy fire. 

Percy loaded the cannon with a grin on his face as Piper swam under the rock, finding that it had been hollowed out by some unknown force. It could not have been the water, as it had an air pocket, and it was high tide at the moment. 

"I found it," Piper whispered to herself with a victorious smile.

She climbed into the dry air pocket, wishing she had a light source of some kind. She closed her eyes, clicking her tongue, hearing the sound bounce off the walls of the rock. She might not have been able to see in the dark, but she did have sonar. 

She crawled on her hands and knees, clicking her tongue and receiving the sound waves back, trying to find any receptacle that could have held the map. 

Soon enough, she found a small wooden chest in the far corner. She felt at its edges before opening the lid, reaching inside and grabbing the paper inside. She put the rolled up parchment in her jacket, trying her best to protect the paper from the water outside of the rock. 

As soon as she left, it was anarchy on the surface. The sirens were now dodging the cannons flawlessly and began to approach the ship, intending to have a pleasant rear banquet. Piper, furious, followed the malicious sirens, her plans unclear, but she knew she was going to protect her family from her race. 

"Percy, I do not know how much longer we will be able to hold up." Nico lifted another heavy cannon ball into a cannon and fired, the deafening sound mostly protecting his ears from the sirens' songs. 

"What?" Percy shouted over their loud surroundings as he loaded another cannon.

"I said," Nico spoke with more volume. "I do not know how much longer we'll be able to—" 

The prince was interrupted by the sudden, aggressive lurching of the ship as the sirens began to try and send the ship below the waves, and the crew, Piper's only family, along with it.

Jason held onto the tops of the walls of the crow's nest to stay balanced and not topple over the edge to certain death. Instead, he got a vantage point, and, right now, that was all they needed. To see the enemy down below. 

He also saw Piper, approaching the sirens who caused her pain in the past. She was willing to risk it all for them, and there was never a more honorable or admirable thing than what he was witnessing now, in his opinion. 

Piper clicked her tongue to navigate herself through the malevolent waves of the sea, treading the heavy water with her arms and slick tail, which was the color of fading moss on an old stone. She was desperate to reach the Black Coral in time, for if all of her friends perished that night, she would never be able to forgive herself. She was past the point of no return with her so-called family, but she would never come to terms that it was all her doing. 

It was all her fault for leading them to Siren's Rock to achieve her insatiable greed, to finally silence her inner demons with riches and notoriety. It would be all her fault, and she knew that she would suffer until her soul passed on from her miserable mind and body. 

I should have swum faster or I should have killed Drew while I still had the chance would haunt her entire being for eternity, or what seemed like eternity, as the life of a siren long surpassed the short lifespan of a human. The incessant suffering would be too much for her, knowing that she had something that she will never have again, not in a million siren lifetimes, probably even immortality: a family.

Her thoughts reinvigorated her as she swam as fast as she could through the misty, murky waters. She clicked her tongue again and knew that she had finally approached the ship. 

Suddenly, she gasped in surprise. The sirens had mostly intercepted the ship. She growled, her fins twitching, her tail shaking in anger as she emerged back into the black water and felt her fingernails sharpen. Even if she did not have a mesmerizing voice, she had something she found more useful: her teeth and claw-like fingernails were sharper than a dagger, which was something the other sirens did not have, despite them feasting on humans whenever they were given a slight chance to. 

"Not today," thought Piper as she dug her claws into the sides of one of her former tormentors. She felt blood trickle out of his side and onto her hands, the warmth of the crimson liquid contrasting the temperature of her cold fingers. She desired more. She desired revenge, even after all of these years.

Once caught the attention of one of the sirens, all others occupied on getting their possible next meal, she dragged him down into the depths, tearing into his throat. He began to choke on his own blood, knowing that he was going to die. He froze, holding his neck to stop the bleeding, to no avail.

She swam back to the surface, her eyes fiery with vengeance, ready to bring all of the attention onto herself to save all the others.

"Hey, fish faces!" She shouted once she emerged from the ocean. "The fight's with me, you cowards! Now, attack me, kill me, I'm the one you actually want, am I not? Are you actually so blinded that you will avoid me and try to prey on those people? They're pirates, they are the filthiest beings I have ever known! Look at that blonde guy climbing down the ladder. Do you really want to eat that?" 

"So even when she's standing up for us, she insults me," Jason murmured to himself. 

"So, come at me you cowards!" 

As she spoke, Piper began to attack them, earning the anger of the other sirens to boil as she brought fatality to the siren she lunged upon, tearing apart her esophagus with her dagger-like teeth. 

The sirens roared with rage, beginning to resist Piper's sudden attack. They pounced on her, clawing and biting every inch of her that they could manage, sending them all into the depths of the nefarious ocean, the map along with it. 

"No! Piper!" Nico shouted, reaching over the edge with an outstretched arm as if that would rescue her, as she disappeared into the ocean, followed by a group of malicious sirens.

"Annabeth, come about," Percy shouted at the blonde girl. "Full speed away from here!" 

"Percy, no!" Nico yelled at his lover, fighting tears he did not even know were there a second before. "We have to save her!" 

"No," Percy told him. "We have to get out of here."

"But, Piper—!"

"She fully intended to attract the attention of them so we could get away! I'm respecting her wishes."

"No, you're just a coward!" Nico shouted back at him. 

"I'm not a coward, I'm only trying to make sure no more of my crew gets killed! I'm trying to protect them!" 

"Like how you tried to protect your mother, Percy?!" Nico snapped impulsively. 

Percy became silent, as the rest of the crew did. The growling, painful bud of guilt blossomed in the pit of Nico's stomach and spread like a flame. 

"Percy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean—" 

"No." Percy said quietly and harshly, his voice suddenly as sharp as a knife. His concealed eyes were blanketed under his dark hair, the dim, melancholy moonlight shining down upon him. "You're right. I'm running away again. After all, that's all I'm good for, huh, Your Highness?"

Percy looked up from the deck into Nico's tearful eyes, and his own held a look the prince had never seen before. They were dark with rage, the once warm, beautiful, welcoming irises that reminded him of the ocean turned black, instead reminding him of hellfire. Hot, scary hellfire that burns deep into your soul and turns you into ashes from the inside out. 

That was exactly how Nico felt. He felt hollow. He felt sad, angry, remorseful. But most of all, he felt guilt. The guilt was gnawing on the ashes inside of him. He finally let the tears flow freely from his eyes, falling to his knees upon the deck of the ship. Another loss of a crew member, and he made everyone feel worse about it. He was selfish, and it was a fact that kept recurring to him, no matter what he tried to do to change it. 

The rest of the crew were silent as they watched the prince, crying like a vulnerable child who had been exposed to a cruel element of the vast world, because that was what he was in his own eyes. He was worthless. He did nothing but hinder his friends and the one he fell in love with. 

Percy felt remorse, too. He understood Nico was just very affected by what just happened, the fact that they could do nothing about it but watch and run away. The captain kneeled down on the deck in front of Nico, enveloping the prince in his arms. He burrowed his nose in the soft fabric that covered Nico's shoulder, feeling his own shirt dampen by Nico's tears as the boy embraced him back. He inhaled the scent that belonged to his love, and, for the first time in years, he cried. After all, not only had they lost a fortune, but they had lost family as well.


	19. A New Enemy

"Now what?" 

That question was ringing through the prince's mind as soon as Jason asked it. Now what were they going to do now that Piper—and the map—were gone? Nico felt no further purpose in persuing the treasure they had sought for the past week. After all, they had no guidance toward the fortune, as it was lost to the dark waves. 

They were a good league and a half away from where Piper had saved their lives. Nico had calmed down a little after Percy had held him, crying as well. He felt better knowing that Percy did not want to run away, but there was nothing he could do about it. He did not wish death upon the outgoing siren, he wanted to save her. He did not want to leave her behind, but, instead, he wished not to lose more of his crew. He already lost Hazel, and now Piper. Two amazing people everyone loved; they were mere memories now. 

"I do not know," Annabeth spoke sadly. 

The mood that had enveloped the ship was as morose as the mist surrounding them as they fled at a steady speed, the water sloshing quietly around the ship as it navigated through the murky sea, the ship rocking with constant movement that Nico was used to now. The soft sounds calmed him slightly, as well. 

Nico's cheeks still felt puffy and stiff from the remnants of tears that were left on his face. Percy took a look at him and regretted being angry at him. He fully acknowledged Nico was impulsive: scarily so. 

However, Nico was not just another thing he needed to protect (he was fully capable of that himself), Nico was his light in the darkness. He was the one that made him feel happy, despite the countless pressure being forced upon his shoulders. Piper was gone now. He did not want to lose anyone else, especially Nico. 

However, he knew he needed to say something to his crew. He was the captain, after all. 

"Now, we need to learn how to fend on our own," Percy spoke. "As we know, Piper is no longer with us. We will need to prepare meals for ourselves now. Jason, I appoint you to galley-duty. We'll see where to go from there." 

"Yes, Captain," the remaining crew answered in unison. 

"Now, Jason, crow's nest, watch out for anyone who might have followed us. Annabeth, to the helm. Keep alert, in case if Jason spots anything. Everyone else, get some rest until called for." 

"Yes, Captain." 

"Percy, I'm sorry—" Nico began. 

"No, don't apologize," Percy told him, reaching for Nico's hand and raveling it in his own. "I understand." 

"But I said something I shouldn't have." Nico gripped Percy's hand tighter. "I'm sorry."

Percy merely smiled at him before cupping the prince's chin with his free hand and leaning down to connect his lips to Nico's. Nico immediately kissed back, moving his other hand to the nape of the captain's neck. His lips were as soft as Nico remembered them to be, but the distinct flavor of salt on his tongue was stronger than previous times they had shared kisses. 

"We should get some rest," Percy said once Nico discontinued the kiss. "After all, it has been a long and eventful day. Come, love."

Nico agreed and followed the captain to their lodging for the night.

\- - - - -

"Before boarding, please give your name, and age," ordered a knight standing on the wooden docks in the harbor, in which a fleet of eight ships were docked. 

Lines of men and boys above thirteen were being escorted onto their ships, to find and recover the prince of Italy, under King Hades's orders.

"Charles Beckendorf. Seventeen." 

"Board the Princess Bianca," ordered the knight.

The man nodded and mounted his assigned ship. The Italian army was forming, and it was as strong and as persistent as seven storms. 

\- - - - - 

Despite what Percy had said, he was the one who took Piper's disappearance the hardest out of everyone. He looked sad while he ate meals, or fractions of them, and when someone said something, he told them he did not have much of an appetite. Additionally, he acted distant whenever Nico tried to talk to him. Nico honestly felt rejected, but he knew that he was being selfish again, and that Percy was going through a tough time at the moment. 

"Have you seen Captain?" Nico yelled over the deafening wind at Annabeth, who was standing upon the quarterdeck, steering the ship with the wind whipping through her wavy hair. 

"I believe he went for a swim," Annabeth shouted back, trying to make the ship go as slow as it could so they would not leave the captain behind. "While you're at it, can you deploy the anchor?" 

"Aye," he said, approaching the anchor to throw it overboard so it could slow down the ship further. 

\- - - - - 

Percy floated upon his back, his eyes shut as he felt the water swish against his body. His ears were submerged, muffling the noises around him. He slightly shivered as a gust of cool wind passed over his wet, bare skin. He opened his eyes, seeing the grey skies above him. 

"Cloudy day today," the captain said to himself. It slightly relieved him from his newfound depression to see the sky was just as upset as he was. 

Nico was right. He was a coward. It was all his fault. Piper was his best friend; he should not have left her behind. Now, the guilt of leaving Piper behind compiled with his guilt of leaving his mother behind. Love, loss, guilt, regret, love, loss, guilt, regret. It was all a sad, monotonous pattern. Nothing changed, and he was beginning to think that it never would. 

\- - - - -

Nico peered into the ocean, which now looked like a dark blue crystal, as he thought about the lost siren. The sky was grey as slate, which completely reflected Nico's emotions right then. He watched the fragile water break as the ship passed through it, turning white and frothy, which contrasted the dark color of the waves. The salty fumes it emitted as the waves sloshed against the sides of the Black Coral usually made him forget, even just a little while, how terrible the world was and his anxieties of his future. That was what Nico wanted: to forget and never have the memory to invade his thoughts again. 

Being a pirate was all he hoped for it to be, perhaps even more. However, what he did not expect was the excruciating pain of the loss of a friend, a pain to which he was newly introduced. A part of his newfound family, lost to the waves. The mystifying, yet unpredictable sea. It could swallow anyone whole; it could consume the essence of life anytime it wanted to. That was what was so fascinating, yet terrifying about it. He was trepid of it, yet it lured him to it just the same. 

As he was lulled into a state of release, a nirvana-like feeling, he saw something he would never expect to be floating all the way out in the middle of the ocean, pushed and pulled by the gentle current of the sea: a medium-sized barrel. The barrel bobbed up and down as it roved through the ocean. Another one closely followed it. Then another. Nico looked at the barrels with surprise. Was the ship nearing shore? 

"Oy, Annabeth," Nico called out to the blonde at the helm, guiding the ship through the waters. 

"Yes, Your Highness?" answered Annabeth, her determined silver eyes never leaving the ocean. 

"Are we near shore?" asked the prince, ignoring his formality, which he despised intensely. 

The navigator glanced at her compass, which she pulled from her pocket and flipped open the lid with a swift flick of her wrist. 

"No," Annabeth replied. "Why do you inquire, if you don't mind my asking." 

Nico watched the barrels drift by, caught in the frothy water the ship caused. "It's not very important to our situation, but I see several barrels floating by." 

"Several barrels?" Annabeth queried, suddenly interested. "Did some of our reserves fall overboard?" 

"I reckon not," was Nico's response. "They were merely floating in the water as we sailed by." 

"Why would those be in the middle of the ocean?" asked Annabeth, searching for coordinates to tell whether or not she had been mistaken, which was not very often. The crew considered her sense of direction to be infallible. Once she deciphered the coordinates, she was correct after all, she thought that they must have fallen out of another ship on accident or were thrown overboard deliberately. Nico thought otherwise, for he saw the source of the wandering barrels. 

In the vast, blue body of saline water, there lie a large ship, engulfed in flames. The ship was split down the middle as the red and orange blossom swallowed it whole, smoke filling the air. That must have been the source of the grey skies and dense air. 

"Annabeth, do you see that?" 

She did, in fact. She saw it once Nico had opened his mouth to speak to her. 

"Blimey!" shouted the blonde girl. "Captain!" 

"Yes, Annabeth?" Percy asked as exited the Captain's Quarters, where he had been drying himself and getting dressed from after his recent swim. "What are you all riled up about?" 

"There!" Nico interjected, pointing at the inflamed debris that was once a sailing apparatus.

"My God." Percy's eyes widened remarkably with surprise. "Annabeth, check for survivors."

"Aye, Captain," she agreed, steering the ship towards the wreckage, but keeping distance from the potentially hazardous element of surprise. 

Her cautious eyes scanned the area for any trace of a human being, dead or alive. After examining some of the debris and objects submerged in the water, she concluded it was not another pirate ship. 

"They were a passive ship," noted the navigator aloud. 

"I see that," Percy responded. "That means there is an enemy lurking nearby. If it happened too long ago, the ship would already be ashes and charred wood. Even more so with the wind. This was a recent attack." 

"Indeed it was," Annabeth concurred. "I will be sure to keep my senses sharp for any sign of a threat." 

"Good," Percy spoke. "Nico, love."

"Yes, Percy?" Nico replied, not taking his eyes off of the incandescent flames.

"Notify everyone about this," he said to him in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "I want all hands on deck." 

"Yes, Captain," Nico nodded, finally tearing his eyes off of the treacherous display. He smiled slightly at the captain before journeying swiftly below deck to tell everyone about what the three had just witnessed.

Before long, everyone had filed quickly up the stairs and to the side railings to see what Nico had described to them. Jason immediately rushed over to the ladder to the crow's nest and began to climb, eager to achieve a vantage point. 

"Do you see any survivors, Percy?" Nico inquired.

"No, I don't. They may have all been taken as prisoner. Or perhaps killed."

"Dead men tell no tales," muttered Nico grimly. 

The evening was silent, bar the ship softly cutting through the ocean and the wind fueling the sails. 

"Perhaps the ship struck a sandbar and merely caught on fire because the impact caused a lantern to fall," Annabeth suggested. 

"One of them accidentally fired a cannon into a flammable area?" Bramble offered in an unsure tone.

"Or, perhaps, one tripped over a lantern and set the ship on fire," Frank anxiously added. "I've done that once or twice."

"Or an enemy caused this," Percy said lowly. 

The air acquired an intense silence again, the crew wary of their surroundings.

"Jason!" Percy shouted, breaking the silence. "Do you see any threats?" 

"Not at the moment," Jason yelled back at him. "I do not think there is anyone hiding in the smoke." 

"Are you sure?" asked Nico, seeing a silhouette of something emerging from the smoke. It was a longboat, two people in it, rowing away from the scene. "Percy, look!" exclaimed Nico, pointing at the people in the longboat.

"Take them as prisoners," ordered Percy immediately.

"Consider them captured," Annabeth remarked.

The ship began to move, directed toward the longboat. The two people saw it, and immediately started waving their arms. 

"Foolish people," Nico thought. 

But, then he saw something. As Nico squinted to see through the smoke, he thought he saw a familiar mess of curly, unruly brown hair. Was it...? 

"Jason, may I see your spyglass for a moment?" Nico asked, holding out his hand behind him. 

"I suppose so," Jason shrugged, reaching his hand into his pocket and pulling out the spyglass, placing it in Nico's outstretched hand. 

As soon as Nico felt the weight of the cold metal in his palm, he closed his fingers around it and brought it to his eye, focusing the lens on the two people in the rowboat, who the ship was approaching. 

As Nico thought, he saw the dark-skinned girl paddling away, with the help of a blonde man. He looked familiar, somehow. Did Nico see him before? Nico felt a feeling of déjà vu wash over him. 

"What's wrong, Nico?" asked Percy. 

"Percy, do not capture them, just save them," Nico told the captain. 

"Why?" Percy asked, confused. "They are simply—" 

"Percy, look," Nico told him, thrusting the tool in his face. 

"Alright, alright," said Percy, accepting the spyglass from him and placing it at his eye, looking down upon the two waving and shouting people he was going to initially take in as prisoners. "Well, I'll be damned! It's Hazel!" 

"Hazel?" Annabeth and Jason inquired in a surprised unison. 

"Aye, it's her!" Percy grinned, handing the spyglass back to Jason, but at this point, he heard her voice from below. 

"Hazel!" Annabeth shouted. "We need to deploy the ladders."

Nico and Frank, who were closest to two of the ladders, obeyed her and released them, watching them unravel down the ship's side. Hazel and the other had approached the ship, beginning to climb the ladders up the ship and leave their precarious longboat, which was damaged by the fire, behind. 

Once she climbed aboard, she ran up to Nico and hugged him. Nico smiled and held her back, her fluffy hair tickling his arms. 

"How did you-" 

"You did not really think I was going to stay there with her, did you?" Hazel grinned. "As soon as she sent me out on an errand, I found an apothecary ship coming in and he helped me find a way onto it."

She pointed at the blonde man that Nico thought looked familiar, and he did. He had sun-kissed, tan skin that brought out his blue eyes and little freckles dotted his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

"Will Solace, how have you been?" Percy grinned at him. 

"Average, despite nearly dying," Will responded. "Have you descended from your high peak of idiocy yet?" 

The captain merely laughed. "My entire life has been a peak of idiocy." 

Will smiled back at him. "I suppose that is true."

"What happened here?" Leo asked. 

"Do you happen to know of a fellow named Luke Castellan?" asked Will.

"Why, yes," answered Percy in-matter-of-factly. "I killed him." 

"Very humorous, Jackson," Will said in a sarcastic tone. 

"No, I actually did." Percy's tone turned serious. "He attacked us, but I shot him and threw him overboard. Frank and Bramble were part of his crew and they joined us."

"That is a true statement," Frank added. "He is dead."

"That is not possible," Will dismissed. "Not even half an hour ago, he intercepted my family's apothecary ship. He stole all the goods and set it aflame. He then went back on his ship and disappeared in the smoke, leaving us all for dead." 

Everything seemingly became silent, including the ship and everyone on it. It seemed like everything else disappeared but the Black Coral and everyone on it. 

"N-no, that couldn't have happened," Percy spoke quietly, breaking the silence. "I ki-killed him. I saw it. I saw him fall into the ocean and he didn't resurface. His ship sank. Piper—"

As he mentioned Piper's name, he could not continue. His shoulders sank and guilt consumed him. Nico noticed his lover's state and immediately ran up to him to comfort him, wrapping his arms around his lover's neck. He stood on his tiptoes, whispering comforting words into Percy's ear. 

Hazel was now confused. She was wondering why the usually suave and funny captain was acting so peculiar. He never acted this sad or dejected. She looked around the ship, glancing at each and every one of the crew members. Piper would usually be standing by Jason's side, making fun of him or riling him up, but there was no sign of the siren. Where was she? 

"It is alright, Percy, love," Nico murmured whilst stroking Percy's hair. 

Percy smiled slightly, slowly embracing Nico, his hand caressing the smooth curve of his back. 

"Where is Piper?" asked Hazel. 

Percy opened his mouth to answer, but Jason was already telling Hazel about what happened before the captain could utter a single syllable. 

Hazel was upset, to say it in the least. Piper was one of her closest friends. It was very unfortunate, what happened to her. She wished she had gotten back to the Black Coral before that happened, and maybe she could have done something to prevent Piper from perishing.

The fact that Annabeth could not pass over, however, was Luke. How would he have survived that shot and plummet into the ocean? 

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Luke is alive?" Annabeth asked. 

"Of course not," answered Percy after Nico released him from his hold. "We need to figure out how it is possible." 

"All I know is that Percy shot him, and he never resurfaced from the ocean after being tossed from the ship," added Frank. 

"Salt on a wound would not necessarily heal it," Will said. "That, and, if, he never resurfaced from the water, how would he be able to survive not only a fatal wound, but staying submerged in water with high pressure for long? It simply is not human." 

"I would not exactly say it is impossible, nor inhuman," Hazel informed. "Magic is always an option. Perhaps he had been resurrected by some unknown persons." 

"If Luke had been perhaps resurrected by someone, that would make sense with all that has happened with all the destruction here," Nico included. "But, who would do such a thing as to resurrect a pirate with no morals?" 

"We do not know until we find out," Jason spoke. 

"Here is the thing, should we?" Leo laughed nervously. "I mean, there has been quite a bit going on lately, and—" 

"We should head toward Tortuga and pick up some supplies and information," Percy ordered, interrupting the repair boy and his posture straightening remarkably. "However, we need to lay low. Tortuga is not necessarily a quiet place." 

"Aye, Captain." 

The Black Coral received two more crew members that day, but the absence of Piper was still very much noticeable. However, their moods were improved by the fact they had something new to focus on: a new enemy. They had no idea who it was, but they were going to find out.


	20. The British Nobleman

The ship rocked back and forth in the harsh storm. The Black Coral was directed toward Tortuga, but, simultaneously, it was brought wherever the wind and waves carried it. The skies were colored an ominous, dark grey, the comforting light blue hidden beneath a curtain of nefarious clouds. White bolts of lightning escaped from beneath the cracks of the clouds, loud claps of thunder following it soon after. 

The crew had taken the sails down once Hazel noted the presence of the menacing-in-appearance clouds upon the horizon of where they were headed. However, that was not doing much good as they all were drenched by a rogue wave that crashed over the edge of the ship, nearly toppling the ship onto its side. 

What additionally did not assist in any form were the many large rocks that stood tall against the clashing, foamy waves. The angered ocean seemed to have wanted to push the ship directly into one of those rocks and send them all under, lost to the depths of the sea.

Annabeth battled with the helm, attempting to turn the ship around in a different direction. The downpour itself was a hindrance as the remainder of the crew were emptying the main deck of all the saline water that fled from the ocean to get into the ship and try to take the Black Coral down from within. 

Nico, this time, was wary of the boom, which he was able to fasten down with many ropes, but it still managed to escape from its imprisonment and threaten the health of any unfortunate soul who happened to be in its way, that malicious piece of wood. Nico swore to himself to find a way to use that to his advantage. 

Of course, the presence of the thunder did not help him any. He was trying his best to keep the water out of the ship and keep everyone else alive, rather than cowering away from the loud, threatening roars that the skies seemed to direct toward him. In a way, he was trying to prove to himself he was not as selfish as he thought he was. 

"How far to Tortuga do we have left?" shouted Leo over the storm, receiving an unpleasant spray of the sea to his face. 

"About three day's travel," Annabeth yelled back. 

Leo sighed before returning to the job he was assigned. 

Will lost his balance from a sudden toss of the ship, falling down onto the wooden planks of the deck, as well as the bucket full of sea water. 

Nico tossed the water in his bucket over his shoulder, back into the ocean from which it came, before approaching the fallen boy and offering him his hand, the cold, heavy rain stinging his exposed skin. Will smiled and accepted the prince's hand, Nico assisting the healer apprentice up from the floor. 

"Sorry," Will said, once on his feet. "Thank you." 

"Don't mention it," Nico replied, picking up his bucket, which was rolling around on the deck, and handing it back to him. "You most likely will need this." 

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"It's Nico," Nico waved off the formality. "'Your Highness' is such a bore, is it not?" 

"I-I suppose so, Your- I mean, Nico," Will responded, beginning to rid the ship of water once more. 

Percy looked over at the two exchanging words while emptying the ship of the water that had crept in over the edges of the ship. Rivulets of a completely new feeling, one he could not describe, even if given proper words for it, trickled into the pit of his stomach. All he knew was that he did not like this foreign feeling a bit. His chest felt like it was growling and grumbling from within him. He cast the healer a glare before continuing his work. 

\- - - - - 

Once the storm subsided and the ship had wandered into safer waters, the crew were dancing like fools as a happy-go-lucky Bramble played the night away on her pipes. She hadn't a drop to drink, of course, but the remainder of the crew had far too much. They were drunken, swashbuckling scoundrels that had not a care in the world at the moment. 

Nico detached himself from the rest of the crew and sat with the captain, who was sitting on the sidelines, taking large gulps of his rum from smudged glass bottles, one bottle after another, all the while staring off into space. 

"Percy," Nico giggled, latching onto his arm. "Why are you so moody tonight?" 

Percy took a swig of his rum before looking back at the intoxicated prince with a raised eyebrow. "I am not sure. Why don't you tell me?"

Nico leaned his head against Percy's shoulder. "You're usually the life of the party, are you not? Come out there with me." 

"Why don't you ask Will to dance with you?" Percy grumbled. 

"Because I want _you_ to dance with me," Nico told him, gripping his arm more tightly. "Please?" 

Nico's soft, brown eyes, clouded with the effect of liquor, softened even more so as his face molded into a drunken pout. Percy took one glance at Nico's face before rolling his eyes with a loving smile and standing up, Nico's grip on his arm releasing with his movements. Nico's eyes lightened up as a wide smile enhanced his features. Percy gave an extravagant bow, holding out his hand for Nico to accept. 

"My love, may I have this dance?" Percy requested playfully. 

"Aye," Nico answered, placing his hand in Percy's. "You're too formal." 

Percy smiled at him, his fingers raveling around Nico's soft, dainty hand. He pulled the prince out into the dance floor with him, placing a hand on his waist and keeping his other interlocked with Nico's. 

"I'll lead," Percy grinned. "You've been taught to dance?"

"Of course I have," Nico answered. "Waltz and—"

"You're too formal," Percy quoted. "Can you dance our way?"

"Like a pirate?" Nico asked.

"Aye, like a pirate," Percy confirmed. 

"I am not sure," Nico smiled. "Why don't you teach me?"

"First of all, loosen your shoulders."

Nico shrugged and wiggled his shoulders before laughing. "I feel ridiculous."

"Good," the captain grinned. "That's a start. Now, hold onto my shoulder."

"Alright," Nico obeyed, placing his hand on his lover's shoulder.

"Nicely done," Percy encouraged. "Now dance."

He began to move slowly in a tempo, Nico watching their feet to catch the rhythm of Percy's footwork. Once he caught up, Percy began to move faster. Nico made mistakes more frequently, but neither of them cared. They were both drunk, anyway. Nico went along with Percy's movements before soon accustoming to the foreign dance. 

"You're so stiff," Percy told him, all the while making jovial strides. 

"Am I?" asked Nico.

"Aye," Percy nodded. "Loosen up." He twirled Nico outwards. "Let go. Let yourself free." And back into his arms. 

Nico let out a surprised yelp as he felt himself seemingly be flung across the floor. "Free?" 

"That's what we are, aren't we?" queried Percy. "We can do whatever we feel. We can do anything we wish to accomplish. That's the best thing about the sea, isn't it? There are no consequences out here." 

Nico grinned. "I suppose that's true." 

Percy and Nico continued to dance with the others, all shouting boisterous shouts. 

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest!" sang Jason loudly, although it was more of a exclamation. 

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" finished the others. 

"Drink and the devil has done for the rest!" Annabeth added, taking a swig from her bottle. 

"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!" the rest repeated. 

Percy spun Nico around, both laughing mirthfully. Nico's vision was limited to the swirling colors of his surroundings as he was twirled around. After a couple of more spins and rounds of drinks, Nico felt dizzy and nauseous. 

"Please excuse me for a moment," said Nico, releasing his grip from Percy's shoulder and hand. Percy gave him a knowing nod. He stumbled over to anything he could hold onto, the closest object to depend his balance upon being the banister of one of the staircases leading up to the quarterdeck. 

"You alright, Nico?" asked Frank in a concerned tone. 

"I am quite alright, thank you very much," replied Nico. 

As those words came out of his mouth, he felt warm bile ascend his throat, causing him to rush over to the side of the ship and eject that night's dinner and drinks into the ocean, the unsavory, bitter taste lingering in his mouth. 

Percy rushed over to his vomiting lover, collecting each strand of his long hair that was in the way and pulling it back out of his face.

"Hazel, can you run downstairs and bring up some water?" Percy called.

"Aye, sir," Hazel said, turning and descending the stairs to fulfill the captain's wishes.

She returned shortly with a small, glass bottle of water. "Here you are, cap'n."

"Ah, thank you, Hazel," Percy told her, accepting the water from the golden-eyed girl.

He gave it to Nico, who downed it immediately to remove the disgusting flavor from his mouth. Percy released Nico's hair once he mostly regained his composure. 

"Are you all right, love?" inquired the captain. 

Nico nodded his head, his face reddened and eyes watering from the unpleasant activity that he had endured just a moment ago and had a feeling he was about to commence in again. 

"He's alright," Percy laughed. "He only had a little too much to drink."

The rest of the crew laughed. 

"Do you wish to lie down?" Percy asked the prince, who nodded his head in response. "All right then." 

Percy kissed Nico cheek before raveling Nico's arm around the back of his neck and wrapping an arm around the prince's back, placing his hand upon Nico's waist. He led the drunken prince back to his room, where he lied him on the bed, before walking around and climbing in on the opposite side. 

Nico sought for Percy's warmth as if it was essential to his life. Percy merely smiled as he got situated into bed and slid over to satisfy the needy prince. Nico's arms found their way around Percy's waist as he lied his head upon the captain's shoulder. 

Percy remained lying on his back, an arm beneath Nico, one hand stroking his lover's back whilst the other was playing with his hair fondly. He swept a strand that was covering the prince's face behind his ear, watching him beginning to nod off into a deep sleep. 

Warm breaths escaped from between parted lips onto Percy's neck as dark eyelashes created long, thin shadows on his cheekbones, which were highlighted by the mellow light of a lantern hanging upon the wall next to Percy's bed. 

Percy smiled at the sight of the sleeping prince; the ruthless, stubborn, selfish, yet beautiful, talented, and brave prince that he decided to call his own. 

He slowly came to realize what that foreign feeling was, and that unwanted emotion was jealousy. He never wanted to feel it again. However, he felt protective over his prince, who was his to hold, and his alone. His grip around Nico tightened as he turned onto his side. The movements woke his lover, who had only just recently fallen into the warm abyss of sleep, although he had not fallen very far. 

"Percy," slurred the prince. "Stop moving."

"Sorry," he apologized.

"'S fine," was Nico's response, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "Go to sleep." 

"Nico?" 

"Hm?" 

"Would you say that you are mine?" 

"I suppose so," Nico replied. "Why do you ask?" 

"No definite reason," answered Percy. 

"There must be a definite reason, otherwise you would not have asked," Nico retorted. 

"I saw you with Will and I felt something I never had felt before, that is all," Percy shrugged bashfully. 

Nico contemplated what Percy had just told him. He had a thoughtful look on his face until he lifted himself to rest his weight on his elbow. 

"Are you implying that you were jealous of Will?" he asked amusedly.

"I am not sure," Percy fibbed. "I merely felt strange when you helped him, and I did not like that feeling at all." 

Nico smiled and shook his head.

"What is it?" Percy asked embarrassedly, simultaneously tilting his head toward the prince, who was amused by Percy's chagrin. 

"It is nothing, just as you stated," Nico smiled.

"Why are you smiling like that, then?" 

"You are jealous," Nico teased. 

"And what of it?"

"It is nice of you to be concerned, Captain," Nico laughed, resting his hand upon Percy's chest. "But I am completely and inexorably yours."

Percy took a moment to let Nico's words sink in before smiling, pulling him closer, and kissing him. Nico smiled against his lips. 

"Well, since that is cleared up," Percy said once their lips parted. "Sweet dreams, my prince." 

Nico rolled his eyes before lying back down. "Shut up."

Percy sat up and reached for the lantern, which was hanging on the wall at their bedside. He blew out the flame that lit the room, which was soon consumed completely by darkness. 

\- - - - -

Once the night faded to morning, Leo, Hazel, and Jason were hanging the sails back up, which was not very difficult, as it was not a windy day. 

Percy had come out of his room temporarily to observe his crew's productivity. It was not that he did not trust them; his crew had a tendency of slacking off, and he wanted them to use their full potential every moment they could. The crew sighed in relief once the sails were back up, but they were not of much use at the moment. 

"Come about," Percy ordered. 

"I have directed us in a steady gust of wind, Captain," Annabeth responded after she spun the helm. "However, the winds are not very reliable today."

"Is that so?" Percy raised an eyebrow. 

"Don't you have your little sweetheart to take care of?" Annabeth pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Percy was a wonderful person, but, blast it all, he knew nothing of wind, direction, or speed. 

"Very amusing, Annie." Percy directed a sarcastic look at her, to which she returned with a glare. 

"Do not ever call me that again, or, may the lord have mercy on your soul, I will maroon you on an island that I am positive is full of cannibalistic natives." 

"Aye, aye," Percy sighed. "Did someone not have enough sleep last night?" 

"Go look after your prince," Annabeth dismissed. "He's probably wondering where you are." 

"Aye. Do not tell me what to do, I know," Percy waved her off as he made his way back to the Captain's Quarters, where Nico was suffering his first hangover. 

\- - - - - 

The sun had begun to caress the horizon, coloring the sea subtle tints of red and orange once the Black Coral had anchored in the harbor adjacent to Tortuga. The crew smelt the foul stench of the pirate stronghold before they even left their ship, but they needed information to reveal who their newfound enemy was.

The crew prepared the longboats before reluctantly rowing their way to port. The place was crawling with vile, dishonest men that would trade their own families for gold and rum, let alone a wanted pirate with a high bounty. 

"I know an information broker," Percy said as the rows he held in his hands treaded water. "He will most likely know of witches who are able to resurrect dead people." 

"What if he decides to turn you in?" Jason asked. "Your bounty is higher than the gold you can offer him as payment." 

"He will have to catch me first," Percy grinned, glancing over at Nico. "Besides, I have a weapon." 

"Riptide could not exactly make a difference if he chooses to—"

"I was not talking about my sword," Percy interrupted. "I was speaking of Nico."

"Me?" Nico looked at him incredulously. "I have gotten you into more trouble than good. I am actually surprised you have not thrown me off of the ship yet."

"Of what use would that be?" asked Percy. "You have lots of potential, Nico. However, swordsmanship is not only about the blade in hand. Footwork and objects that surround you can be of use, as well. Do not be afraid to kick or throw a punch. That stuns the opponent." 

"And you are giving me a lesson about swordsmanship now?" Nico spoke. 

"Of course," Percy shrugged. "There is always time for improvement, after all. Unless, of course, you are faced with a life or death scenario. Then you need to use your instincts to lead the way to survival. If you do not, you are just another man lost to the sea, or lost to the blade. Whatever is your preference, I suppose—"

"It appears that we have arrived," Jason cut his lecture short right before the front of the longboat collided with the docks of Tortuga, sending the crew backwards with a sudden jolt. Once they managed to regain their balance, they climbed out of their wobbly longboats upon the wooden docks. 

"This is Tortuga?" asked Nico. 

In all honesty, he expected Tortuga to be like the Devil's Port, squalid and disgusting. However, it did not resemble the small, shoddy stronghold in the slightest besides the fish nets draped over buildings, the shameless women, and the inebriated men staggering across the walkways with no ideal destination in mind.

If it were not for the people, Tortuga would appear like a domestic residency. Decorative vines grew upon the buildings, and the walkways were composed of cobblestone. A healthy tree stood proudly on the ground next to the walkways, which kind of gave a welcoming aura to the place. However, there were the people who lessened the domesticity and sanctuary of Tortuga. 

Two men, appearing to be a buccaneer and a mercenary, were threatening each other with sharp daggers beneath the tree. Their dangerous weapons gained enhanced luster from the torchlight that was emitted by the iron-framed torches that hung by doorways and entrances into businesses, which were probably illegal and founded by owners who kept a low profile, most likely on the run from the law. 

"This is indeed Tortuga," Jason answered the prince. "We need to keep a low profile, however." 

"Truthful words," Percy agreed. "There are not many people here who would not exchange me for a bottle of rum." 

"Why would they do that?" Bramble asked. 

"They do not know me personally," Percy answered her. "Even if they did, they would probably dislike me for multiple reasons. If they do not know me, they do not give a damn about me or my welfare." 

"That makes sense," Nico muttered. "We should find that informant you know, or else we might be sought out." 

"Fine idea," Percy said, approaching the nearest tavern, an inconspicuous brick building called "The Lone Magpie." 

As they reached the entrance, a woman stopped the captain from entering. 

"Well, hello there." 

"Excuse me, I am meeting someone," Percy dismissed.

"Captain Perseus Jackson, it is rude to not greet a lady."

"Well, I beg my pardon, but I do not see any ladies. Now, if you would excuse us—"

"You do realize I could inform someone of your presen—" the woman stopped in the middle of her blackmail once her eyes rested upon the prince, who stood beyond where the captain stood. "Well, isn't he an attractive one?" 

Percy looked back to where the woman's gaze was directed, subconsciously expecting to see her eyeing Jason, but, to his surprise and displeasure, there stood Nico, who was looking confusedly at the prostitute. Percy did not necessarily disagree; with Nico's feminine, yet somewhat manly body structure, he did look delectable. However, someone else was eyeing him, and he did not appreciate it.

It was too late; she had already approached him, and he was uncomfortably flinching at her close proximity to him. 

"What is your name, sweetheart?" Her eyelids dropped as she spoke in a low, seductive tone. 

"None of your business," the captain barked at her. 

"It, indeed, is my business to be informed of my clients' names," she retorted.

"He is not your client, nor will he ever be." Percy stepped between the two.

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. Now, if you will excuse us, we will be leaving now, for I have no desire to continue talking with you." 

Percy had pushed her aside before opening the door to the tavern and entering, his crew following closely behind him. 

Despite the somewhat tranquility of Tortuga's port, inside it was an unadulterated mess. Saying the tavern was a madhouse would be an understatement to the scene Nico had laid his eyes upon. It was a place of violence, madness, and alcohol. 

Nico did not think its name was fitting for the type of place it was. "The Lone Magpie" seemed like a name for a calm, quiet place one would nestle down to take a nap, or refuge for the night. He wondered who could possibly sleep in a place like that. 

Percy led the crew through a forest of fighting men and broken glass to an empty table at the back of the pub. Nico did not dare to ask for anything to drink, for they would have to venture through it again, and it would not exactly guarantee his survival. 

Percy noticed Nico's nervous state as they sat at the table. Percy merely gave him a small smile and found his hand beneath the table, interlocking their fingers and caressing the back of his palm gently with the pad of his thumb. Nico released a breath which he was unaware that he had been holding. 

"With this many people, don't you think we would be found?" Nico asked. 

"No." Percy shook his head. "Everyone is too busy dealing with their own problems." 

"Then why did Jason say we had to lay low?" asked Nico. 

"He meant that we had to lay low while we are outside," Percy said. "To be completely honest, we did not do a very good job at that, considering that that woman approached me." 

Nico hummed in understanding, his eyes wandering down to the planked wood of the floor, which was barely visible beneath the waste and glass. 

"I see him," Percy finally spoke up, breaking the silence between the crew. He talked quietly, despite all the volume going on about them, which made his voice hard to hear, but everyone knew what he said. "I thought that he'd be here. Good business here, after all." 

The crew snuck over to him, dodging flying bottles, glasses, and men, creating more of a mess upon the floor. 

He sat alone at a table for two, his gloved fingers impatiently tapping upon the wood of the table. He stood out in the crowd, as his clothes were too elegant and his posture was too proper for a place like that. Sitting atop his head was a silver wig full of extravagant, yet neat curls. 

He reminded Nico of a nobleman, one that he could picture sitting upon a magnificent white steed, galloping majestically upon a grassy hill in a countryside landscape, the mane of the horse flowing back with the wind as its hooves carried both of them on. Why a man as pompous as he would be sitting in a bar that reeked of alcohol and perspiring men, he would never guess. Perhaps he was commencing in illegal practices. Perhaps he was a spy that crept into the royal or higher military ranks. 

"Perseus Jackson, how wonderful it is to see you," said the man in a polite tone, his voice distinctively British, once he caught sight of the captain.

"As it is to see you again," Percy bowed slightly to politely acknowledge his presence. 

"I have seen your bounty has increased by a considerable amount," the man told him. "Why is it that you are showing your face in somewhere as squalid as this place? Are you asking to get arrested?" 

"It is not my objective, no," Percy replied. "I merely wanted to see you." 

"I'm flattered," said the man, his proper tone not changing. "What do you wish to know? Since you have gotten me into a good position in my trade, I'm willing to give you a discount." 

"Aye, a discount, you say?" Percy joked. "By how much will that be? Would you perhaps spare my arm? I would say that I require it in my daily life, you know." 

The informant sighed before a small smile crept upon his face. "So be it." 

Percy gave a small chuckle as he pulled out a stool and sat upon it. His crew sat at the table next to theirs, listening to what the informant had to say. 

"So, Hermes, do you have any knowledge of witches who can resurrect the dead?" asked Percy. 

The British nobleman's visage turned serious. "Resurrecting the dead? That is a dark subject. Why would you need to know of this?"

"We have encountered a problem in our journey and we wish to solve it," Percy told him. "A person that died a week ago has shown up once again and we wish to know of who would do such a thing." 

"Who died?" Hermes asked.

"I apologize, but Luke Castellan," Percy said grimly. "He boarded my ship with intentions to kill, and we fought by sword. He lost, so I killed him by shooting him with my lucky pistol and threw him overboard. He did not resurface." 

Hermes's downcast eyes looked sad, but Nico did not know why. 

"I see," the British man finally spoke after a long pause. "He has risen from the dead?" 

"Aye," Percy nodded, the expression in his eyes as hard as steel. 

"And you suspect a witch of resurrecting him?" asked Hermes. 

"Aye, we do believe someone used dark magic to bring him back to get revenge upon us, but I know not who would do such a thing, as we never did a witch wrong that was capable of such magic," Percy affirmed. 

"Hm," Hermes contemplatively hummed, placing a pondering finger on his lips. "You may be correct about that. As for witches, I may possess knowledge of who could have the ability to bring people back from the dead." 

"And who could do magic of such high caliber?" asked Annabeth.

"Some had recently been discovered and burnt at the stake," Hermes told her. "I have no guarantee she is alive or not." 

"We were only knowledgeable of him being alive for four days now," contributed Leo. 

"But he had to travel by ocean to bring down the ship we were sailing," Hazel told him. "That may have taken days from where the witch is stationed. It could not have been my mother, since there were no ships while I was there. The ship we were aboard had wider sails and more wind to fuel it than the other ship did. He must have came from a place nearby where we were attacked." 

"Then who could it have been?" pondered Nico.

As they thought of the possibilities, a sharp sword pierced through the nobleman's chest, splattering blood all over Percy. All of their eyes widened in surprise, including the informant's. The person who wielded the sword sent Hermes flying to the floor, exposing the man's murderer to be Luke Castellan, his son, and he was very much alive.


	21. A Devious Stratagem

Percy and the rest of the crew of the Black Coral were stunned momentarily. The boisterous and obnoxious tavern seemed as if it grew silent around them as Luke pulled his blade—once silver but now crimson—from the back of his newly deceased father. 

Before the captain knew it, his rival had directed the tip of the weapon at his neck, pressing sharply enough against his skin to feel little bits of blood trickling out of the fresh, but small wound. 

The crew looked hypnotised when Nico glanced at them. Their faces were pale with dread and their eyes full of shock. It looked like they were in a trance. Nico was the first to wake as he completely acknowledged what situation they were in. 

"Percy! What in the world are you doing?" Nico demanded as he drew his cutlass from his belt. 

Percy looked at him with wide eyes. He knew that Luke did not intend on killing him. If someone else was in his way, they would be murdered as mercilessly as Luke killed Hermes. "Nico, no." 

Nico slightly lowered his cutlass. "What?" 

"Put your sword back."

"I cannot just let you die!" 

Percy merely smiled at him. "I would never die this easily." 

"Then why are you not fighting back?" 

Percy ignored the last question, turning away from his lover's confused face, and looked Luke directly in his cold, lifeless eyes. "Your intentions are not to kill me. If they were, you would have done it by now, as I am currently in a vulnerable state. I believe you expect me to request parlay?" 

Luke nodded slowly. 

"Did your master or madam order you to capture me alive?" 

He nodded again. 

"Well," Percy grinned, feeling for Riptide strapped at his belt. "If you know me well, you know I'm not going down without a fight." 

Percy kicked under Luke's ankles to stun him momentarily by sending him to the floor, quickly getting back on his feet and standing up, his sword prepared for battle. He waited for Luke to leap back up to fight.

Nico saw that the captain's opponent was ruthless and had many weak spots, one being his back as he did not focus on his surroundings—only his target. He saw his chance. However, once he was about to interfere, Jason held him back by swinging his arm in front of him. 

"Nico, he has something planned. Let him do what he does." 

"But two against one would give Percy more of a chance of winning," argued Nico. "I could overwhelm him from the back. He's not focused on his surroundings. If I attack him from the back, then Percy—" 

"No," responded Jason, his arm not moving. "Captain told you not to. Respect his wishes."

Nico looked at the first mate, pure lividity residing in his dark eyes. 

"We need to help him, or else he could be killed. You know how ruthless and merciless Luke is! Do you not want to assist your captain?" 

"He can accomplish tasks by himself," barked Jason. "Are you underestimating him?" 

"No, of course not!" Nico glared at him. "I just don't wish pain nor death upon him." 

"He has a plan," Jason growled quietly, only for Nico's ears to hear. "You interfering will ruin it. Assist only if he tells you to, aye?"

Nico's gaze fell back on the fight, which the drunks in the bar had now put their focus on. Nico saw the look in Percy's eyes as he fought, and that reassured his confidence in the captain's abilities. The twinkle of mischief in his eyes told Nico that he did, indeed, have a plan and was just waiting for the right opportunity to act on it. 

Nico slid his sleek, black weapon back into its covering, but still had a hand placed on its ornate handle that peeked out of the sheath which hung from his belt. 

Something came to Nico's attention, however. Percy had remarkable footwork. It was graceful and practiced, same with Percy's form. Each swing and parry of his blade was planned and had a purpose. He assumed that the way Percy was presenting himself in battle was how he calmly incorporated strategy in his swordsmanship. That was what he wanted Nico to learn how to do. 

Nico now wanted to interfere more than ever by watching Percy fight. Percy went on and on about how skilled he was and how he was his "secret weapon", but Nico knew he was still lacking greatly in some areas. He learned not to let his guard down after fighting. He learned not to let passion and impulse get the better of him. He learned never to back down, always fight. Fight until you win. Use your arms and legs. He learned so many things in the amount of time he was with Percy and on the Black Coral. 

That was why they could not afford to lose. That was why Nico needed to fight. He needed to prove his worth instead of being the damsel of distress time after time.

Percy eyed the ceiling for a moment, then back at his opponent. He looked back at Nico for a second and gestured with his eyes at the tavern's wooden chandelier that hung from ropes and pulleys on the ceiling. He was telling Nico his plans. 

Nico nodded. He went around the crowd of people to go up the stairs that lead to the rooms. 

"Nico, what are you doing!" Jason shouted after him, but Nico ignored him. Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, the first mate ran after him, ordering the rest of the crew to stay there and not to do anything. 

Once Nico reached the top of the stairs and went through the door to the rooms, he searched for a vacant one. He found one eventually, trying to open it. However, he learned quickly that you needed a key to enter the doors. He groaned while jiggling the brass door handle and pushing as hard as he could against the door. It wouldn't budge. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. 

"Nico, come back downstairs." 

Nico sighed. "Captain wanted me to do this. While he keeps Luke distracted, I need to loosen some ropes and then return downstairs so I can drop the chandelier and Percy can escape up into the rafters." 

"Are you sure that it will work?" 

"It will if I can get through this—"

Jason interrupted him by kicking down the door. 

"...That works. How did you—" 

"The hinges were loose," Jason shrugged before entering. 

The room wasn't a bedroom like Nico had anticipated—which was most likely why it wasn't occupied—but it was something even better. It was a storage room. I smelled sour, like sweat and dust and age, and had several holes in the walls and ceiling. It was full of old, musty clothes, broken bottles and large, burlap sacks full of rice. Rats ran across the planked wood floor, searching for food. 

However, in the squalid, unsanitary room, there was one thing that caught his eye. There was a small hole, which was large enough for him to fit through, that led onto the rafters. Nico grinned and ran to it, avoiding the rats, which scurried across the floor and found sanctuary in places out of plain sight in fear. 

"Nico, where are you going?" asked Jason, following him. 

Nico ignored him and ever-so-smoothly slid though the narrow hole and balanced himself on a wooden rafter. He kneeled and turned around slowly. 

"New plan: grab one of those rice bags," Nico told him. "The chandelier is made of wood, therefore it won't be as heavy as one of those rice bags, but it would be heavier than an average man if something was added onto it once it was cut. Tie the rope that holds the chandelier up to the rice bag. When I give the signal, lure Captain over to the rice bag and have him grab onto the rope. As you slice the rope, I will put a rice bag on the chandelier, and it will send him up to the rafters, where I will be situated. I found an escape route that is out of plain sight. I will bring him to it, and we will run from him until all of the crew has boarded the Black Coral and we can sail out of here." 

"That is—" Jason said, in awe. 

"I know, it's a plan," Nico interrupted. "Go. There won't be much time." 

Jason nodded, reviewing his part of the plan in his head. "Aye."

Jason grabbed a large rice bag, which was heavier than it looked, before exiting the room and bringing the large sack down the stairs and over to its position.

Nico grabbed the lightest rice sack, which was still pretty hefty, but he was able to push it along without falling or breaking the rafter. 

He made his way over to the chandelier, the rice bag prepared for the next steps. He watched Percy smoothly dodge one of Luke's blows. His swings were now lacking, as his arm was slowly tiring and his sword felt like it was gaining more and more weight with each and every thrust of the golden blade. 

Jason and Percy soon caught each other's eyes and Jason gestured for him to move toward the bag as the first mate prepared his cutlass. Percy nodded and gradually started to move the fighting toward the rice bag. 

Once he was ready, Nico nodded at Jason, who cut the rope with a clean slice. As the chandelier began to fall, Luke directly underneath it, he threw the rice bag upon, it, sending it crashing downwards more swiftly. Percy had soon joined the prince on the rafters as Luke was stunned by the chandelier. He was lying on the floor, face-down, the weight of the chandelier and rice sack on his back. 

Nico grabbed onto one of Percy's sweaty hands and led him off the rafters and through the exit he had sought out, which was an open window. Underneath the open window was hay, which served as padding as Percy and Nico jumped down into it. Percy got underneath him to take most of the impact of the fall, holding him close to protect his head and neck. They landed with a soft thud and took a moment to recover from the fall from the second-story window before running off to a place that they could hide out in temporarily. 

\- - - - - 

A crowd of people had gathered around the blonde man to determine whether or not he was dead. As a barmaid kneeled down to touch his skin to feel if it was cold, Luke had stood as quick as a flash, sending the chandelier and bag against the wall, scattering thousands of grains of rice all over the bar and setting a wooden bar, covered in spilled alcohol, aflame. 

The small flame soon turned into a roaring blaze, engulfing the entire interior of the Lone Magpie in a hot, bright orange, seeming as if night had turned to day. It had not, of course. People rushed out of the doors and jumped through windows, trying to find a form of immediate exit. 

Luke merely looked up at the rafters and ran up the stairs to the floor above him. He saw the kicked-down door and saw the open window. He climbed through the narrow opening, jumping smoothly down to the ground and stuck a quick landing, following the orders and directions in his head to where his target was currently hiding. 

\- - - - -

"Where is Captain and Nico?" asked Hazel, her golden eyes glimmering with concern. 

"They told me we would rendezvous on the ship," Jason informed them. "We shan't waste a single moment. Let's climb aboard." 

The crew reluctantly followed Jason's orders, boarding the ship and looking out for the prince and their captain. 

\- - - - - 

Nico and Percy crouched behind a building in an alleyway, seeing their ship docked in the port. They were almost there. 

As they stood to make a run for it, Nico felt a blade roughly pierce his body. He screamed in pain and shock, seeing the blood-stained blade peek out of the front of his ribs, only to be thrown to the side, onto the cold, hard ground. 

"Nico!" Percy shouted in fear and heavy concern. 

As he watched Nico bleed on the ground, reaching his hand to his wound and looking at the blood on his fingers in dread, darkness and fury overtook his usually soft eyes. In a flash, he drew his sword, and with a quick motion, he sliced the metal blade through Luke's body in as many places he could, leaving plethoras of deep, fatal cuts. Luke collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud. 

Nico watched Percy rush over to him on the ground, scooping up his body in his arms. There was a loud ringing in his ears, and he could not hear Percy's muffled shoutings of worry and fear. His vision was slowly starting to fade.

Nico's eyes dulled as more blood cascaded from his wound. Percy did not want to think of what was to happen if they didn't get that wound healed. He didn't want to imagine Nico's pale skin whiten even more so as the life drained from his body. He ran as fast as he could to the docks to board the boat.

He lifted Nico aboard and placed him under Will's care—reluctantly, of course, but he had no other option—he felt something ravel around his ankle as he tried to climb aboard. He looked at what had bound him, only to see a rope in a tight knot wrapped around his ankle. 

His face paled as he hung onto the side of the ship to prevent being pulled away. Jason saw what was happening and rushed over to the side of the ship as quickly as he could and grabbed ahold of the Captain's hands. Luke, who seemed like Percy had not sliced a sharp sword through him multiple times, pulled at the rope that he had lassoed around his ankle, pulling with a strength that could not possibly be human. It certainly wasn't. 

"Jason, let go!" Percy told him. 

"I—can't!" Jason's voice was strained for the amount of force he was using to pull his Captain aboard. 

"Jason, he's not going to kill me. If it continues like this, I'll be split in two. Let me go. I'll find my way back." 

Jason took one last look at his best friend's sincere eyes before releasing his hands. As that happened, Luke pulled Percy with such a force that as he landed upon the wooden docks with a thud, it immediately sent him into a state of unconsciousness. Annabeth steered the ship away from the port as Luke dragged Percy's lifeless body away.


End file.
